Students will have the opportunity to participate in monthly activities lead by different Peer Group Leaders. These spaces are meant to complement students’ experiences within their host organizations by allowing them to explore other facets of finding (or securing) a job, creating and maintaining an artistic practice, and more. Each event, led by a local arts professional, supports students in meeting other interns, building their network, and learning more about the arts ecology of the region.
As part of the Arts Internship Program, students are required to attend at least one of these Peer Group events during their internship.
Additionally, in the fall we will be hosting our virtual Arts Summit, where all interns will be required to attend. More information about that will be released to interns at that time.
Please click the links on this page to learn more about the Peer Group Leaders for the 2022 program.
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Larry Laboe
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Larry Laboe is Co-Founder and Executive Director of NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA), an organization committed to highlighting and connecting emerging filmmakers and storytellers worldwide. Larry is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and has been a Faculty Member at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) and Art University in Shanghai and Beijing. He is a Board Member of the BRIC Foundation, a Committee Member of SAGindie and the Co-Chair of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Entertainment, Arts and Media (TEAM) Committee. Larry's background in the entertainment industry spans over a decade as President of Production at SXM, a production company specializing in helping brands fuse entertainment, advertising, and technology. Larry has produced scripted and unscripted streaming series and commercials, directed by talent such as James Franco and Joseph Gordon Levitt, for some of the world’s leading brands, networks, and studios, including Disney, NBC, CBS, VEVO, Dailymotion, MTV, DEFY Media, Comedy Central, Verizon go90, Amazon, Complex Media, IKEA, Mountain Dew, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Verizon, and Smuckers.
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Sayon Syprasoeuth
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With his Master of Fine Art, Sayon Syprasoeuth collages and images are reflective of his own journey as a Cambodian refugee—from his shocking exile from his childhood village on the Cambodian-Thai border, to his scary passage into Thailand countryside and his lost boyhood in a refugee camp where making art was his imagination safeguard—to his passage from his Buddhist-animist land to Christian America. His work holds fast his connection to the Cambodian spirit-enhancing land, cross-cultural dimensions, and his drive to animate Apsara and other essential images of beauty alongside the grotesque.
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Allegra Padilla
As Director of Community Relations & Partnerships with Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles, Allegra Padilla develops equitable and sustainable community engagement strategies to connect Levitt LA to the Westlake neighborhood and beyond. A lifelong Angeleno and Xicana, she brings 15 years of experience in the non-profit field with a focus on community organizing, youth development, arts and culture. She received her education in the communities where she has worked—Pasadena City College and UC Santa Cruz—earning a BA in Community Studies and Art History. She has worked with: Occidental College, Heidi Duckler Dance, Jewish Vocational Service, 24th Street Theatre, Homies Unidos and Inner City Law Center. She was a Cultural Policy ACTIVATE fellow with Arts for LA in 2016-17 and a mentee of the Women of Color in the Arts Leadership Through Mentorship Program in 2018. Allegra has also served as a grants panelist with the LA City Department of Cultural Affairs, Long Beach Arts Council, LA County Arts Commission, the MAP Fund and the CA Arts Council. All her work demonstrates her commitment to be a strategic community builder who is passionate about social justice and creating equitable access to the arts. When not activating the Levitt LA lawn she can be found hiking, traveling, attending cultural events, and enjoying many musical genres with loved ones such as global bass, hip-hop, reggae/dancehall, cumbia, and more.
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Brian Elerding
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Brian Elerding is the executive director of the Lineage Performing Arts Center, the Artistic Director of the Ensemble Shakespeare Theater, and a director and actor in film, theater, TV, and commercials. (IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1318793/) -
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Christie Rios
Christie Rios is Director of Programs for The Floricanto Center for the Performing Arts and assistant Director of Danza Floricanto/USA, one of the oldest Mexican folklorico companies in the U.S. Christie is a prolific choreographer who is inspired by the human condition and uses her voice to create dances on varied topics like, mental illness, molecular biology, immigration and motherhood….all while using the vocabulary of Mexican folk dance.
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Charles Jensen
Charlie Jensen is the Program Director of the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, the nation’s largest and most prestigious open enrollment creative writing program. He is the author of 2 poetry collections, 6 poetry chapbooks, and writes fiction and personal essays. He has been honored by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as a 2019-2020 Cultural Trailblazer and received the 2018 Zócalo Poetry Prize.
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Elisa Bocanegra
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Elisa Bocanegra is the founder of HERO Theatre. Her work with HERO Theatre has been featured in The Los Angeles Times and American Theatre Magazine and is a favorite amongst local theatre critics. Elisa is a Fulbright scholar. In addition, she won the prestigious TCG Leadership U Grant, the nation's largest grant of its kind, for her work with HERO Theatre. This provided her the opportunity to be part of the Leadership Team at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for two seasons. Her stage directing credits include TROY, a modern retelling of THE TROJAN WOMEN about women and homelessness in Los Angeles. She directed TROY and worked alongside Kilroy List playwright Amina Henry in the development. Other directing credits include Festival Irene: A Tribute to Playwright Maria Irene Fornés, The Floating Island Plays by Eduardo Machado, and a new screen and stage project called Nuestro Planeta, which focuses on educating Latiné audiences about environmental justice within the Americas. Nuestro Planeta is a ten-year-long new work commissioning initiative. Elisa is mentored by Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter. She is part of Cullors' Environmental and Social Justice Arts program for activists at Prescott College. In January 2021, it was officially announced that Elisa is part of the inaugural NEXUS Cohort at New York Stage and Film. This highly selective program asked the industry's top professionals to nominate artists who they believe are the next generation of influencers in film and theatre. A committee of Pulitzer-winning individuals selected Elisa for her work as a director, producer and performer. As an actor, her first film, GIRLFIGHT, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at The Sundance Film Festival. Elisa has extensive experience performing at major theaters around the country and has also worked at The Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.
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Debra Pasquerette
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Debra Pasquerette is the Manager of Community Engagement at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. She was previously the Director of Education at The Geffen Playhouse and has worked in the field for over 25 years. She is dedicated to bringing arts learning to diverse audiences and connecting community through the arts.
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Jennifer Fukutomi-Jones
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Jennifer Fukutomi-Jones serves as Principal Arts & Culture Administrator with the City of Glendale’s Library, Arts and Culture Department, and works directly with the Arts and Culture Commission to oversee programmatic initiatives of the Urban Art Program. Prior to working with the City of Glendale, Jennifer held previous roles with Arts for LA, Ford Theatre Foundation, The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, and LA Opera. Jennifer received her BA in American Literature and Culture with a minor in Theater from UCLA.
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Karen Mack
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Karen Mack is founder and Executive Director of LA Commons, a South LA based organization dedicated to promoting Los Angeles' diverse neighborhoods through locally based, interactive, artistic and cultural programming. For nearly twenty years, she has developed initiatives that reflect the unique character of these places with the goal of fostering interaction, dialogue and a better understanding of Los Angeles.
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