Post New York Alliance (PNYA) will highlight the benefits of building a neurodiverse workspace in the next edition of Post Break, its free webinar series. A panel of post-production professionals with experience in working with diverse types of people will offer advice on creating an environment that leverages differing talents and provides a safe and productive environment for all. The session is scheduled for Thursday, October 28th at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
A neurodivergent workspace is one that embraces cognitive variation by accommodating individuals of different personality types, including those on the autism spectrum. Joyce Boll, Executive Producer at Break + Enter, and Aline Lima, VFX Pipeline Technical Director at Nice Shoes, will talk about their professional dynamic and the added value of working with neurodiverse individuals, as Lima identifies. David Siegel and Tim Siegel of the nonprofit Exceptional Minds will discuss their experience in supporting neurodivergent individuals by applying their talents in the post-production industry.
Panelists
- Joyce Boll helms the Features & Episodic VFX department of Break+Enter, a Nice Shoes company, where she has brought in such projects as The Many Saints of Newark, Pennyworth S2 and Amazon’s Outer Range as well series for Netflix and Showtime. Over the course of her career, she has launched entertainment ventures on five continents, notably including Oxygen Media, the first woman-owned cable network in the U.S., and Sir Richard Branson’s V2 Music’s online presence. She also produced London’s first webcast, V2 Music’s Granddaddy Concert. Additionally, she has overseen studios that created titles for such films as Black Swan, Moonrise Kingdom, Life of Pi and Captain America. Boll taught and developed curriculum for New York University’s CADA & SCPS programs and the School of Visual Arts. She served on the panel for creating The Ringling School’s Business of Art & Design Department (BOAD). She has also taught at Bezalel Design Academy in Jerusalem and lectured at the Interdisciplinary College in Herziliya, Stevens Institute of Technology and UNCSA Film School.
- Based in Brazil, Aline Lima is Break + Enter’s VFX Pipeline Technical Director. She has 16 years of pipeline and programming expertise, working with artists and producers to create cutting-edge pipeline solutions. Her technical guidance has supported a film and television projects for studios including 02 Filmes, Vetor Zero and Casablanca. Lima Lima, was diagnosed with mild autism later in her adult life, following the diagnosis for her daughter. Since then, she has become an advocate involved in raising awareness for neurodiversity in the workplace.
- Tim Dailey is Associate Dean at Exceptional Minds. He manages part-time programming, different committees and clubs in the organization, and is currently overseeing technology functions within the academy. He previously taught courses at the organization in visual effects and motion graphics, and guided students in career planning. His background includes teaching and freelance work is visual effects. He has work for various Los Angeles-area VFX studios, including Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, Baked FX and CBS Digital. He received his MFA in Digital Art from The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Moderator
- David Siegel is Executive Director of California nonprofit-of-the-year Exceptional Minds, an academy and studio that prepares people on the autism spectrum for careers in animation and the digital arts. A former Disney cast member and director of marketing for Disneytoon Studios, Siegel began his career in talent representation at the William Morris Agency before segueing into film production and financing. An active philanthropist and social entrepreneur, Siegel, in partnership with his author/philanthropist son Dylan, has raised $1.5 million and unprecedented global awareness toward eradicating a rare genetic disease that will now be cured in the next several years.
When: Thursday, October August 28, 2021, 4:00pm EDT
Title: The Cornerstone of Diversity: Our Neurological Makeup
How to fit in different personality types and create a truly divergent workplace.
Sound recordings of past Post Break sessions are available here: https://www.postnewyork.org/page/PNYAPodcasts
Past Post Break sessions in video blog format are available here: https://www.postnewyork.org/blogpost/1859636/Post‐Break
About Post New York Alliance (PNYA)
The Post New York Alliance (PNYA) is an association of film and television post‐production facilities, labor unions and post professionals operating in New York State. The PNYA’s objective is to create jobs by: 1) extending and improving the New York State Tax Incentive Program; 2) advancing the services the New York Post Production industry provides; and 3) creating avenues for a diverse talent pool to enter into The Industry.
