1. How did you get involved with IBG and what are your official responsibilities?
I was recruited into IBG by the original three members to help produce the live events (the largest portion of my current job). There is a joke among us that they trapped me in a parking garage while they pitched the idea. Actually, that is largely true, but not as scary as it sounds. I’d met a lot of people with big ideas, so I didn’t take it all that seriously at the time. The next time I saw them, they handed me a sample program for the first, proposed event and my email address. Let’s just say I started to take them seriously after that point.
2. Out of all the fundraising events IBG has organized thus far, can you pick a favorite moment or memory?
I can’t possibly narrow this down. I loved hearing Vince Gilligan discuss the difficulties in the development of Breaking Bad, Liz Tigelaar’s discussion of casting Life Unexpected, Mitch Pileggi’s hysterical industry stories and all The X-Files events. The most recent event with Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and Chris Carter certainly did leave an impression! I was actually leaving another event when I got the voicemail that both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny had agreed to the IBG SA-YES event. The response from them came back so quickly that, I must admit, it took me completely by surprise. I burst out laughing in a parking lot listening to the message. A couple of months and a lot of work later, I walked into the holding room to see Gillian and David preparing to go out for the Q&A, taking official photos, etc, and that moment in the parking lot came back to me. It was by far the largest event we’ve tackled, and I’m hopeful it’s a sign of great things to come.
3. What inspires you on a daily basis?
I’m not sure there is any one thing that inspires me consistently, but collaboration frequently sparks my imagination and boosts my determination to achieve. I will say that IBG received the most amazing email from the head of SA-YES following the donation from the July event. It actually brought me to tears. When things don’t go well, or I get frustrated with any aspect of my life, I pull up that email.
4. In the next five years, what do you believe IBG can accomplish?
World peace. Ok, that might be more of a 10 year goal. Seriously, though, I think there is no limit to what IBG can achieve provided we continue to create successful collaborations with other invested, generous people (donors and celebrity guests). It will not be easy—it will take grants, expanding the donor base and continued creativity. There are a handful of major projects on the horizon—if successful, I think we’ll move into a whole new level of operations. I’d love to see us expanding the organization. We’ve brought on two really amazing people in the last couple of weeks, and I can already see a positive difference.
5. What is one item or moment someone has given to you that you will never forget?
I was recently trying to decide whether or not I was ready to leave a very comfortable corporate position for a more precarious life of a writer/producer. I was at the airport with my parents (frequent sounding boards for my major life decisions to this day), and their advice was this: “If you do nothing, you know exactly what your life holds. If you take this risk, who knows what it could bring.” It might not seem like much, but it was a truly clarifying moment for me, and it will stay with me always.
6. Now for a Thanksgiving food question…if you could only choose one, which would you rather load your plate with: mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, or stuffing?
And now I’m hungry. I’ll have to go with mashed potatoes—particularly the Yukon Gold Puree from Craft. This is the stuff of food fantasy. It takes the mashed potato concept to an out-of-body good experience.
Stay tuned next Friday for another round of Q&A’s!
