Hollywood Program Board

Gerry Abrams has produced more than 70 films and television specials while working with a who’s who in Hollywood — from Art Carney, Ingrid Bergman and Sid Caesar to Alec Baldwin, Michael J. Fox, Ron Howard and Denzel Washington.

Abrams, who earned his Penn State bachelor’s degree in 1961 and was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1986, has earned Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominations. His work has also earned numerous Gemini Awards (Canada’s equivalent to an Emmy).

Among his most well-known works are “Houdini” (2014), “Nuremberg” (2000) and “Family of Spies” (1990). "Houdini" was cable television's top-rated miniseries in 2014. "Nuremberg," a dramatized account of the war crime trials following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, was a four-hour miniseries on Turner Network Television starring Baldwin and Christopher Plummer that garnered numerous award nominations. It was the highest-rated cable miniseries the year it premiered.

Abrams grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and started his career after Penn State as an account executive focused on sales. He found success in that endeavor and moved to the West Coast, where he gained additional sales responsibility but first moved into production as the executive producer of “The Secret Life of John Chapman” in 1976. It told the true story of a college president, Chapman, who took a job as a general laborer while on sabbatical — a version of reality TV long before that became its own genre.

By 1978, Abrams had launched his own company, Cypress Point Productions, and his varied interests and skills as a producer kept him busy and productive.

Through the years, shows he produced appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, Lifetime Television, the Hallmark Channel, ESPN and numerous other outlets as he deftly helped productions connect audiences. Award-winning actors in the movies have included Michael Caine, Glenn Ford and Bob Dylan, and the actresses have included Sissy Spacek, Joan Collins and Julie Harris. While some of his productions were based on real situations and dealt with potentially heavy topics — a convict who seeks rehabilitation through boxing, a victim of domestic violence, a historic recall election in California — his ability to shape stories about people consistently resulted in successful productions.

Abrams and his late wife, Carol, also a Penn State alumna and a Peabody Award-winning producer in her own right, have two adult children and five grandchildren. Their children are director/producer/screenwriter J.J. Abrams — with numerous credits for TV (“Alias,” “Felicity,” “Lost,” “Westworld”) and film (“Super 8,” “Star Trek,” “Star Wars: Episode VII”) — and screenwriter Tracy Rosen (“Daniel’s Daughter,” “Fairfield Road” and “Felicity,” among others.)

Two time Emmy Award-winning Mary Lou Belli has been directing television for over 30 years. including "NCIS New Orleans," "Black Lightning," "Bull," "Legacies," "Station 19," "Sweet Magnolias," "Pitch," "Monk," "Wizards of Waverly Place," "Sister, Sister" and many more. Her short film, "Straight Eye for the Gay Guy" won Best Mini-Short at the California Independent Film Fest where she also premiered "I Heard Something," a thriller that went on to play festivals internationally. She has done ground-breaking work on web-series. Her award-winning short, "America," played its 14th fest on its fourth continent at The Hague and won best short. Mary Lou served two terms as the co-chair of the Women's Steering Committee at the DGA where she also has served on the Western Director's Council, presently she is on Leadership Council PAC and as an alternate to the National Board.

She is an Honorary Board member of the Alliance of Women Directors and Advisory Board member of Women in Media and a long time member of Women In Film as well as the Peer Group Executive Committee of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has served as judge and/or guest speaker for the CSU Media Arts Fest, a judge for the Miss America Outstanding Teen Pageant, a jury member at the Sapporo Short Festival, Newport Beach Film Fest, Regina International Film Festival, and The Voice awards, a lecturer at the Chautauqua Institute, and a panelist for Women In Film, the DGA, SAG, and AFTRA and the LA Times Festival of Books. She has been a guest artist at the International Thespian Festival for secondary school theatre where she gave workshops to thousands of teens and high school theatre teachers. Through her teaching, she supports many of the vibrant diversity programs including ABC/Disney, CBS, Sony, HBO Access, AFI's Directing Workshop for Women, and Warner Bros. Directing Workshop mentoring the next generation of directors. She is the co-author of four books: "The NEW Sitcom Career Book," "Acting for Young Actors," and "Directors Tell the Story" which she co-wrote with fellow DGA member Bethany Rooney. Her 4th book, "Acting for the Screen" was published by Focal Press summer 2019.

Robin Bronk is chief executive officer of The Creative Coalition — the leading national, nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment industry. Since being appointed to the position in April 2010, she has exponentially grown The Creative Coalition’s operating budget by designing and instituting corporate sponsorship programs and cause marketing opportunities. Bronk joined The Creative Coalition in July 1998 as the organization’s Executive Director and during her tenure has taken the nonprofit from a New York-based entity to a national organization.

She is an author and public speaker and most recently produced the feature film airing on Showtime, Poliwood, directed by Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson. She has also produced several award-winning Public Service Announcement campaigns. Bronk serves as spokesperson for The Creative Coalition and is a frequent speaker and communicator on the role of the entertainment industry in public advocacy campaigns. She has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, People, Boston Globe, The Washington Post; and has been a guest of “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Hardball,” “Scarborough Country,” as well as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, PBS, New York 1 and other broadcast outlets as well as a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post.

Prior to her appointment, Bronk served as vice president, corporate community strategies, for APCO Worldwide, an independently owned global communication consultancy with offices in major cities throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Her clients included corporations, governments, industry associations and nonprofit organizations. Her areas of client services included corporate and internal communication; crisis management; issue management; government relations; media relations; coalition building; corporate social responsibility and online communication. She also served as the Director of Cause Celeb, an APCO division that matches celebrities and entertainment leaders with national causes and issues of importance.

Prior to joining APCO, Bronk worked for ABC News, served as a program coordinator for a weekly education series that aired on C-SPAN and worked as a program instructor of the Close Up Foundation. Bronk serves on the New York Cultural Task Force, is a board member of The White House Project, The Close Up Foundation, Carmel Art & Film Festival, Gold Coast International Film Festival and Young Playwrights Inc., and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and Women of Washington. She has won numerous awards and honors for her public affairs work.

Terry City is a founder and principal at Steel Titan, an Emmy Award-winning Black and female-owned L.A.-based media production company whose mission it is to create and produce conscious, thought-provoking content for audiences worldwide. City is a veteran of the entertainment and digital industry, previously working as vice president of sales at Buzzfeed, executive director of sales and strategy at Huffington Post, he’s also held positions at the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and Yahoo Entertainment. A proud Penn State alumnus, City graduated in 1990 with a degree in television production.

Cheryl Fair served as president and general manager of KABC-TV, the ABC-owned local television station in Los Angeles, from 2015 until her retirement in March 2024. She first moved to KABC from WPVI in 1994 to head up KABC’s news operation and served as vice president and news director for more than 20 years. Under Fair, KABC dominated the L.A. market as the top-rated news operation in the market.

Dan Hartman is currently a media consultant at Hartman Media. He was previously the SVP of Programming at DIRECTV, where he was responsible for program acquisition activities with respect to general entertainment and premium cable networks, as well as high definition and video-on-demand programming. He also oversaw DIRECTV’s sports programming negotiations and was responsible for the strategy and negotiations with respect to local broadcast station groups.

He was the senior counsel at Fox Broadcasting Company from 1995 to 1998 and served as the lead attorney for all sports-related areas and also negotiated and drafted documentation relating to sports rights acquisitions for the network. Hartman graduated from Penn State with a degree in communications/business, communication and media studies and later obtained his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Mark Hoerr is currently the Head of Worldwide Post-Production, Prime Video & Amazon Studios. Previously, he was the director of post-production for original series at Netflix, and vice president of post-production at HBO. Hoerr earned his bachelor’s degree in advertising from Penn State in 1987.

Suzanne Kamenir is the Vice President, Creative Advertising at The Walt Disney Company where she spearheads worldwide creative marketing AV for 30+ new release, catalog, & acquired/third-party film & television titles a year across several lines of business at Disney including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Twentieth Century Studios and Searchlight.

Her background includes Home Entertainment, Motion Picture advertising, Broadcast Design & TV Branding & Identity. Her client portfolio includes Disney, 20th Century Fox, New Regency, Annapurna Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Universal, Sony Pictures, Paramount, Comcast, and Apple.

Formerly, she was the vice president of global creative marketing for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Prior to Twentieth Century Fox, she played an integral role in creating compelling branding / advertising campaigns and groundbreaking creative, production, and technology advancements for interactive & linear content on Blu-ray, DVD, mobile, and ITV. At Trailer Park & Universal Studios Home Entertainment, she led efforts in interactivity and connectivity to help them remain at the forefront of industry innovation, while differentiating themselves from their competitors.

Melissa Stone Mangham has an impressive 30-year career in television marketing. An expert at building network brand position across all areas of marketing including on-air, online, off-network media and strategic partnerships, Mangham helped ensure Pop TV’s star ascended in 2019. The network saw its first Emmy nom, for “Schitt’s Creek,” and ended the year with a creative activation based around the hit series. She also served as the Chief Marketing Officer at The WONDER Project, SVP of Marketing & Communications at Anthem Sports & Entertainment, The Style Network, Oxygen Media, ABC and Sinclair Inc.

In the world of TV marketing, her role required a keen understanding of visual storytelling, from color palettes that evoke specific moods to designing for various platforms with precision and intent. She orchestrated numerous photo shoots, promotional campaigns, and brand narratives, all within the constraints of a rectangular format. Now, this expertise has translated into a new realm: the four corners of a canvas. During the quarantine, she found a renewed voice in painting, drawing inspiration from the organic forms around me at home and in nature. This shift from the digital rectangles of TV marketing to the boundless possibilities of the canvas has allowed her to explore new creative dimensions.

Mike Marcus has had a long and successful career in Hollywood, with more than 50 years of experience in the entertainment industry. His career in Hollywood began with a move to California, where he bought a very used car, put down his first and last month’s rent, and then fortunately found an opportunity in the mailroom at a talent agency. He was promoted to agent and accelerated when he became a senior agent at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents many of the top stars in the world of entertainment.

He went on to serve as president and chief operating officer of MGM Pictures, followed by leadership positions at two feature film distribution companies. Since 2004 he has been head of the management division of Echo Lake Entertainment. He serves on Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications Dean’s Advisory Council and chairs the board of Penn State’s Hollywood campus, a spring semester program that began in 2016 to introduce students to careers in entertainment management and production.

Michael McIntyre is CEO of MOCEAN, a full-service creative marketing agency that he co-founded in 2000 in Venice Beach, California. MOCEAN produces award-winning campaigns for global brands including Disney, Apple, Chevy, Netflix, and Amazon.

McIntyre began his career as an art director/animator for Cimarron Group and then joined Craig Murray Productions in 1997. After launching MOCEAN, he led its evolution from a design-focused firm into a full-service agency, helping brands in motion navigate change by growing new audiences. Now the largest independent agency in Hollywood with more than 200 employees, MOCEAN has been honored as “Entertainment Agency of the Year” three times over the last seven years. In 2023, Fast Company named it one of the “Best Places to Work for Innovators.”

McIntyre has led MOCEAN to earn over 500 major industry awards, including Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Promotional Announcement” in 2013 and 2014, as well as Promax, Golden Trailer, Webby, Telly, Addy and CLIO Awards. He has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2021, a board member of The Clio Awards and a contributing writer on AI innovation for Fast Company Magazine.

McIntyre is proud of MOCEAN’s long time partnerships with non-profits dedicated to promoting social equality, educating under-served communities, and providing food and shelter to those in need, including the Hollywood Food Coalition, Film2Future and Chrysalis. He is passionate about helping students learn about and enter the entertainment marketing business and has served as a board member of the Penn State Hollywood Program since 2017.

Founder and CEO of Briarcliff Entertainment and formerly Founding CEO of Open Road Films and President, Theatrical Films at Lionsgate. Born and raised in Briarcliff Manor, New York, he graduated from Penn State University in 1982. It was while at Penn State that Ortenberg recognized his passion for film, showing recent theatrical movies on campus to raise money for non-profit student organizations.

Ortenberg began his film career with Columbia Pictures in 1985, and joined Hemdale Film Corporation in 1989, where he served as president of distribution and marketing before joining Lionsgate in 1996, opening their first Los Angeles office in his apartment and serving as president, theatrical films for 13 years. During that time Ortenberg oversaw a slate of Theatrical releases including "Monster’s Ball," "The Saw" and Tyler Perry film franchises, and the Best Picture Academy Award winner, "Crash."

In 2010 Ortenberg signed on as the founding CEO at Open Road Films, a new theatrical motion picture company founded by AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment Group, the two largest exhibition companies in the United States. Under his leadership Open Road Films had a number of critical and commercial successes including "The Grey," "End of Watch," "The Nut Job," "Chef," "Nightcrawler" and "Spotlight," recipient of six Oscar nominations and winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture.

He is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and is a Trustee of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). He was named by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the most influential people in Independent Film.

Hal Sadoff is CEO of Dark Castle Entertainment. Previous roles include Luna Park, Inc., International Creative Management ( ICM ), Cobalt Media and National Westminster Bank.

Formerly, he was the chief executive officer of Silver Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and a veteran of the media and entertainment industry, having played an integral role in over 450 productions and financings totaling more than $3.5 billion. SPE is currently in production on Superfly, in pre-production on Sherlock Holmes 3, and produced Suburbicon, directed by George Clooney along with The Nice Guys, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.

Previously, Sadoff was head of international and media finance at International Creative Management (ICM), one of the leading talent agencies in the world. He oversaw a team of agents and was responsible for the packaging, financing, distribution and sales of feature films, television and digital media. Prior to joining ICM, Sadoff was an executive producer and financial consultant on several films, including Hotel Rwanda, which was nominated for three Academy Awards. He has played a key role in the financing, distribution, and production of such films and series as Crazy Heart, which won two Academy Awards, HBO’s acclaimed Band of Brothers, House of Sand and Fog, Evita, Open Range, Carnage, and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

Sadoff also was co-founder, partner, and head of the Los Angeles office of Cobalt Media Group, a leading media financing and international sales company. He began his career at the London-based Westminster Bank, spearheading its Los Angeles media and entertainment finance group.

Sadoff currently serves on two advisory boards in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications: the Penn State Hollywood Program and the Dean’s Advancement Council. He is also a board member of The Creative Coalition, a not-for-profit, non-partisan art and education advocacy group. Sadoff is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Ande, and their children, Jack and Kate.

Darren Schillace leads the marketing strategies for all business units within FOX Entertainment as president of marketing at FOX Entertainment, including FOX, the #1 broadcast network; and Tubi, the industry’s leading free streaming AVOD platform; as well as projects from Bento Box, FOX Alternative Entertainment and Blockchain Creative Labs. Schillace is also a consistent contributor on marketing projects across the larger FOX.

Previously, Schillace served as Executive Vice President, Marketing for FOX Entertainment, overseeing the marketing strategy and campaigns for some of the most successful shows on television, including the critically acclaimed series 9-1-1 and television’s #1 series, THE MASKED SINGER. Before joining FOX in 2017, Schillace oversaw all marketing strategies for ABC’s Primetime, late-night and daytime programming, spanning on-air promotion, off-network creative, digital marketing, social media, paid media, strategic partnerships and events. Most notably, Schillace oversaw the campaigns for “Modern Family,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Designated Survivor,” “black-ish,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Scandal,” “The Bachelor” and “Dancing with the Stars.”

Before that, Schillace posted his first stint with ABC, where he was Vice President, Marketing Strategy. During his early tenure with the network, he managed all marketing strategy and research, digital strategy, paid media and marketing partnerships for ABC’s primetime and late-night slates. He joined ABC in 2003 from Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, where he handled marketing strategy for EPCOT and Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Schillace, who started his career working in production and design at Random House, also worked at a number of advertising agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA Chiat/Day. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from Penn State.

Paul Schaeffer is vice chairman and chief operating officer of the Mandalay Entertainment Group. Along with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Guber, Schaeffer is responsible for all aspects of the motion picture, sports, television and e-sports business, focusing primarily on the corporate and business operations of those entities. Schaeffer was co-founder of the Mandalay Entertainment Group with Peter Guber in 1995.

Prior to forming Mandalay, he was the executive vice president of Sony Pictures Entertainment, overseeing the worldwide corporate operations for SPE – including Worldwide Administration, Financial Affairs, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs, Legal Affairs and Corporate Communications, as well as other corporate groups. A veteran of 20 years of private law practice, with 15 years in entertainment law, Schaeffer joined SPE from Armstrong, Hirsch and Levine, where he was a senior partner working on corporate entertainment matters for a number of motion picture, television, and music clients. Paul graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and earned his accounting degree from Penn State. He was also an accountant with Arthur Young & Company in Philadelphia, before attending law school.

Rosemary is currently consulting for A & E Lifetime Entertainment where she is responsible for the development and production of 10+ Lifetime original movies. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Current Programming and Vice President at CBS Entertainment. In that role, she oversaw the creative direction of 30+ dramatic, comedic, and late-night talk show series’, acting in dual capacity as both studio and network executive on multiple shows. Before that, she was the SVP of Television for Radiant Productions, VP of Television Development and The Kushner-Locke Company, and Director of Primetime Series at NBC Studios overseeing JAG and Homicide.