Hello PWIFT Family –
We’re excited to announce some leadership changes to the PWIFT Board. Suzanne Landau, our tireless leader and long-time President has decided to step down and pass the baton.  The Executive Board has elected Hillary Hanak-Newman as PWIFT’s next President.

Hillary, a Philadelphia-based Director of Photography and Video Content Producer at Aramark, was previously Secretary of the Executive Board.  Hillary is a proven leader in the Philadelphia film industry and the international world of 360 Virtual Reality.  In addition to her filmmaking expertise, she brings her passion, enthusiasm and creativity to the position.

We want to thank Suzanne for her dedication and unending motivation and stewardship of PWIFT for the past 12 years.  Suzanne, one of the founding members, has been instrumental in growing PWIFT from a burgeoning organization to an effective non-profit supporting female film and content makers through grants, education and mentorship.  Suzanne will remain on the PWIFT Board as a Member at Large.

We are pleased that Dafna Yachin, PWIFT Vice President, will remain on the Executive Board through 2022 and then transition to the position of Board Member at Large. We thank Dafna for her tireless efforts during her tenure. Dafna’s immense contributions include securing grants, creating and moderating some of our most successful events and workshops along with sharing her invaluable counsel and leadership.

PWIFT welcomes four new Board Members:

Simone Holland (Membership) – Independent filmmaker and co-owner at Tetra Creative
Alfreda “Fre” Howard (Membership) – Professional makeup artist/Faces by Fre, LLC
Jenna Lam (Programming) – Creative Producer
Kelly Murray (Secretary/Communications) – Independent filmmaker and Marketing Director at Trail Creek Outfitters

Some role changes are also in the works for the rest of our Board.  Betsy Braun is now the Co-Chair of the Communications Committee and Phuong Nguyen is Co-Chair of the Programming committee.

A special thanks to Maureen Schultz who has completed her Board term.  We thank her for her leadership and service. During her tenure, she developed and produced many events that helped to educate our members and the PWIFT community.

We also offer our unending appreciation to Diane Walsh, our long-time Secretary who relocated to California last year.  Diane kept PWIFT running behind the scenes. While she has moved on to new endeavors, she continues to offer her welcomed counsel whenever needed.

We are already hard at work planning some exciting events and educational opportunities for our membership.  Stay tuned for our new newsletter.  And if you haven’t renewed your membership or know someone who would like to join PWIFT, click or send them this link below.

THE BOARD