GEMA ALUMNI CAREER PANEL ON CAMPUS

DATE: Wednesday October 24, 2007
TIME: 6:30-8:30 pm
PLACE: Riggs Library, Healy Hall, Georgetown University Main Campus, 37th and O Streets, NW, Washington, DC

GEMA Career Panel brought together alumni in entertainment professions in business, law, sports, media and content development to discuss their careers and answer questions.

2007 GEMA Career Panelists:

KARIM CHROBOG (SFS’01)
Karim is a producer at 18th Street Films, where he is producing a documentary on Sudanese war child and internationally acclaimed rap artist Emmanuel Jal, called WAR CHILD.  He started his career in the media industry at Time Warner's international public policy office, where he worked with the company's Warner Bros., HBO and Turner divisions. Karim is also the founder of Tangier Pictures, 18th Street Films' sister company. Tangier Pictures is currently producing a feature drama on Ibn Battutah, a colorful but forgotten Moroccan adventurer who traveled 75,000 miles throughout the 14th century.  Karim is constantly traveling abroad seeking content for new projects. Karim speaks German and English, and maintains conversational fluency in Arabic.

JAMES DEUTCH (C’92)
Jim is Executive Vice President of Business Development at the Nederlander Company, where he develops and structures deals to create Broadway musicals and television programming as well as orchestrating corporate joint ventures and strategic partnerships.  In 2006 he created and Produced “Conversations with Michael Eisner”, a primetime talk show which airs on CNBC.   From 2001 to 2006 Mr. Deutch worked as an executive at Hearst Entertainment, a unit of the Hearst Corporation, where he created and developed television programming, partnerships and new business through planned acquisitions of and joint-ventures with television production companies in the United States and England.  He’s developed programming for Bravo, MTV, Telepictures, E!.  He Executive Produced "The Rules of Attraction" (released by Lions Gate Entertainment in 2002) and Produced the documentary "Tie-Died" (which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995 and later was theatrically released and shown on HBO, Cinemax and AMC). He has held positions with Summers-Quaid Productions (based at Sony Pictures) and entertainment management firm Addis Wechsler and Associates (now known as Industry Entertainment).  He is a member of the Television Executives branch of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, a member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and an advisory board member of the Georgetown Entertainment and Media Alliance.

CATHERINE MARQUETE (G’08 MBA)
Catherine Marquette is a second-year MBA student at Georgetown University, graduating in May 2008.  During the past summer, she served as Marketing Associate in the Multicultural Marketing department of Pepsi-Cola North America, analyzing the energy drink platform as it pertains to the multicultural consumer.  Currently she is interning at the Motion Picture Association of America in the Education Department and participated in the GEMA Externship program last year.  Prior to business school, Marquette worked for almost eight years for D.C. United of Major League Soccer, where she was Director of Community Relations, in charge of the team’s community-based initiatives and cause-related marketing platforms Marquette began her career at D.C. United in February of 1999 as a Ticketing representative, transitioned into a Customer Service position and later developed the Community Relations department.  In January of 2002, she founded D.C. United's charitable arm, United for D.C., for which she served as Executive Director.  Marquette was twice recognized as Major League Soccer's Community Relations Executive of the Year, in both 2003 and 2005.

 KAREN TRAVERS (C’00, S’03, S’10)
Karen Travers is the Deputy Political Director at ABC News where she is covering the 2008 presidential election. She most recently worked as a White House producer for ABC News, traveling with President Bush on all domestic and foreign trips since Dec. 2004. At the White House, Karen was responsible for ABC News' editorial coverage and planning for White House events, speeches and breaking news.  Prior to that Karen covered the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign as a reporter/producer and was a researcher for Ted Koppel at Nightline. A native of Blue Bell, PA, Travers graduated in 2000 with a degree in American Government from Georgetown University, where she served as editor-in-chief of The Hoya. She earned a Master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Georgetown in 2003.

TRICIA PRIMROSE WALLACE (C’86)
As AOL’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications, Tricia Primrose Wallace oversees all external and internal communications for AOL and its brands, including AIM, Netscape, MapQuest, Moviefone, and ICQ.  Wallace was previously Vice President, Corporate Communications, handling AOL's strategic communications efforts, including corporate announcements, crisis management, international communications, and senior executive speaking placement. For many years prior to that assignment, Wallace was a Time Warner spokesperson on corporate issues, including financial and legal matters, and oversaw the company's corporate marketing and brand identification initiatives.

NEVILLE WATERS III (G’91 MBA)
Mr. Waters has extensive experience in marketing, communications, entertainment and production, as principal of The Waters Group. His expertise spans professional sports; radio and television production; event management and promotion; and partnership development. Specifically, his background includes stints with both the WNBA and the NBA Development League; Marriott Hotels and the DC Sports & Entertainment Commission. In addition, he has worked on independent projects such as producing and directing a radio magazine show MetroTalk; producing a local Washington, DC community affairs television program, DC Today; as well as developing concepts for a sports-themed TV program featuring popular radio personalities; a dating advice show with a young writer; and a reality-based show focused on weight loss. He also follows and comments on pop culture, politics and pet peeves through his online column Random Thoughts of a True Renaissance Man.
Mr. Waters began his professional career in the music/radio industry and undertook various roles including on-air announcing, research and programming, promotions, public affairs and production. His relationships in the industry have allowed him to consult on significant projects such as the musical debut of Janet Jackson and the promotion of Riddick Bowe’s heavyweight title fight at RFK Stadium. His credits include gold and platinum albums from artists as varied as LL Cool J, Anita Baker and Gregory Abbott. He also nurtured the creative talents of playwright David Talbert and radio personality Wendy Williams.
Other relevant endeavors have involved working with major promoters to organize, promote and manage large scale shows and performances including the Tibetan Freedom Festival; the Human Rights Campaign Concert; the WHFS Festival; World Cup soccer matches; nationwide tours for U2, N’Sync and the Promise Keepers; and the unique mass wedding sponsored by the Unification Church. Responsibilities involved contract negotiation, development of marketing campaigns, as well as coordination of publicity, transportation, security, and VIP hospitality. These successful events have provided valuable expertise in administering the divergent aspects of live productions to ensure smooth operations and exceptional performances.

LISA A. WILLIAMS-FAUNTROY (L’94)
Lisa A. Williams-Fauntroy is Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs at Discovery Communications. Discovery is the number-one nonfiction media company, reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries through TV and digital media and well-known brands including Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet. Lisa manages the programming, production, and talent practice area, which handles all programming and talent deals as well as legal production and prepublication issues for all of the Discovery networks worldwide. Her practice area includes management of lawyers and paralegals in the U.S. and the U.K as well as contract drafting and negotiation. Additionally, Lisa advises clients on legal issues related to content liability with a particular focus on matters related to copyright, defamation, publicity and privacy rights. Prior to joining Discovery, Lisa was an associate at the Washington, D.C. law firm formerly known as Roberts & Eckard, P.C. (now Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP). Lisa is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she received a dual degree in Broadcast Journalism and Sociology, and Georgetown University Law Center, where she received her law degree. Lisa served as a panelist for the 2005 Practicing Law Institute's course, "Counseling Clients in the Entertainment Industry," and she has been and is active in various legal and non-legal organizations in the Washington, DC area.

You can check out a picture from last year event here.