Program Development
At The Gotham Kia has created various programs and initiatives to support the film and media ecosystem. Such programs has related to building a 2,500 membership community for the organization, The Gotham’s Owning It and Expanding Communities programs as well as acted as a leader in supporting The Gotham team with other key initiatives such as Gotham EDU and Gotham Week.
After being a part of team at the The Made in NY Media Center by IFP for a few years, Kia began to develop programs for the community. One of the first challenges she wanted to solve as part of her role as Director of Membership, was how to support women and nonbinary creators and entrepreneurs who worked from and attended events at The Media Center. That is how Owning It was born. As an opportunity to support these creators with resources, community and access to industry insiders within an inclusive environment where the work produced for this community would support all creators.
Owning It, a program of The Gotham Film & Media Institute (former IFP), was established in 2018 with the intention to support, connect, and empower women and non-binary creators and entrepreneurs who break down boundaries in the media and entertainment industry. However, the program goes beyond that intention by providing an inclusive environment that provides entrepreneurial skill-building for all creators.
The program consists of thought leadership, accountability challenges, workshops, networking events Owning It alumni programming, and more. Past Owning It guests include Rebecca Hall (Passing), Alice Wu (The Half of It), and Julie Deply (Two Days in Paris, The Before Trilogy, My Zoe).
Owning It
Expanding Communities
In 2020 when organizations and creators were fractured due to the isolation of the pandemic, Kia and the team at The Gotham, determined it was important to develop a program that focused on bringing various film and media creator and organizational communities together to tackle the many challenges the film and media industry was facing at the time and continues to face. With the support of peer organizations, The Gotham created Expanding Communities.
Expanding Communities—a program of The Gotham Film & Media Institute—provides resources, a community space, and industry access to film and media creators across film, TV, and audio industries. The program works with over 30 non-profit partners in the film and media space who share the common goal to advance creators' projects and careers.
Through these partnerships, the program acts as a platform for both creators and organizations to reach new audiences, develop networks of potential collaborators, and access career advancement resources and opportunities within the film and media industry.