E2AC Emerging Leaders

Jaydin is a medical neurotoxicology researcher at the Department of Defense. He is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, where he worked in a neurological stem cell research lab developing therapeutic treatments for strokes. He received a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. Minor in Theatre Arts. At Penn State he produced and edited university-sponsored podcasts, and was a voice actor in a hit radio drama. In his off hours Jaydin is a filmmaker, photographer, artist, and podcaster. He aims to go to film school for a masters degree. His passion for photography shows in his everyday carry of a film and digital camera. He is also working part time as a production assistant for documentaries and short films. Jaydin loves everything related to cinema and spends his free time watching movies and enjoying his vintage records.

Nicole Palermo is a Global Donation Operations Associate at the International Rescue Committee. She also serves as a Program Coordinator at the Rockland County Haiti Relief, a humanitarian organization that spearheads a monthly mobile healthcare clinic in remote areas of Haiti. In these roles, Nicole supports fundraising ventures, mass marketing initiatives, and product donation coordination. In addition, Nicole is part of the BoardPlus program with the Haitian Global Health Alliance. Nicole is also a Research Associate for the non-profit start up DronesRx, a comprehensive health service that utilizes drones to provide medications, vaccinations, and telehealth opportunities to remote areas of the world. Prior to working as a Program Coordinator and Research Associate, Nicole received a Bachelor of Science in Global Health from the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine and now resides in New York City. For Nicole, the Emerging Leaders Board inspires her to communicate and work with other leaders with the same purpose and drive.

After graduating from the University of Georgia with a B.A. degree in Entertainment Media Studies and Mass Communications in Journalism, Sabrina works as a feelance Production Assistant based in Atlanta, GA She has completed work for Academy Award-Nominated Producer Matia Karrell and Emmy-Nominated Director Hilary Prentice at The Red Door Film, as well two documentary projects in post-production for PBS. She recently completed her first commercial freelance work with Hulu for a new TV series. Sabrina is an alumna of E2AC On Campus and is enthusiastic about continuing in entertainment production through on-set experience, administrative support to executives, and leading teams in project-based social impact entertainment.

Eliana Waxman is a writer and producer dedicated to telling stories about marginalized communities and current events. Raised in Chicago with a passion for comedy and journalism, she fostered a love for late night television and sketch comedy through her studies at The Second City and The iO Theater. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications with a concentration in Critical Journalism, minor in psychology, and a focus on romance languages and literature. Her studies allowed her to explore policy, sociology, political science, law, and history through a media-centric lens. She currently works with the cold open team at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to produce two topical sketches for the top of each show. Her previous experience includes assisting with production on upcoming films Killers of the Flower Moon and Mothers' Instinct; grant coordination; social media and outreach; business, scientific, and cultural journalism; theater production; and audience coordination and management.

Rahul is a NYC-based producer and storyteller. He studied journalism, design and film at Northwestern University, focusing on explainer video and documentary journalism. While there, he wrote for a satirical paper, interned at the Chicago Sun-Times and edited stories for the first college edition of Pop-Up Magazine. After graduating, Rahul worked at Instagram producing editorial for @design and program managing advocacy initiatives such as the #BlackDesignVisionaries grant program. Prior to an industry-wide strike, he was a PA on the Field team at The Late Show, helping produce the show’s comedic sketches (favorites include a collaboration with the directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once and crossovers with the casts of Severance and Ted Lasso). Recently, he’s been freelance UPM’ing and producing short films, as well as working on Instagram’s Threads. In his free time, Rahul enjoys writing, film photography and watching movies.

Brianna Barker is a dedicated healthcare advocate and creative enthusiast. For over a decade, she has been a public patient speaker for several healthcare nonprofits, including the Organ Donor Network (LiveOn NY), and the American Heart Association, all while chasing various creative pursuits over the years, including producing patient-focused video content and running her own photography business. Brianna graduated from Penn State University in 2020 with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and Health Professions and a B.A. in Telecommunications and New Media Industries with a minor in Photography. While attaining her degrees, Brianna served as a leader in Penn State's THON, a philanthropic pediatric cancer organization. Since graduating, Brianna's mission has remained to connect with patients, empower them, and share their stories with her creative abilities. Currently, Brianna resides right outside of New York City, working as a freelance video editor, photographer, and patient family advocate at an NGO very close to her heart.

Eliana Mugar is a freelance narrative film editor and has worked on many short films that have received film festival recognition. From Boston University, she earned a B.A. in Linguistics and Computer Science with a minor in Film and Television with a specialization in editing, sound, and cinematography. During her college career, she was President of Delta Kappa Alpha, a national professional cinematic organization, and President of the BU Linguistics Association. She has done research studying authorship attribution with the Evaluating Variations in Language Lab based in Duquesne University where she has contributed to gender studies regarding online linguistic text behavior. Linguistics helps her understand how people communicate, find their identities, and interact with the world. Computer science equips her with problem-solving tools, especially since she is a nerd who likes computers, coding, and technical things. She hopes to bring these disciplines into her interest of connecting the world of digital technology with the humanities and creativity. She tries to watch a movie per day and logs them on her favorite social media platform – Letterboxd. She also has a passion for traveling, soccer, trivia, history, languages, photography, and music.

Stacey is a Brooklyn-based writer and producer born and raised in Florida. She began pursuing a career in film and TV through summer internships while majoring in American Literature at The University of Alabama. As one of 50 students selected from an international candidate pool, she participated in Telluride Film Festival’s 2019 Student Symposium program, which sparked her continued passion for film festivals and special programming. Upon graduating, she moved to New York City to work in independent film distribution for Neon, before eventually moving into the scripted production space in October 2020. Since then, Stacey has directly supported directors, producers, and production teams on projects including Severance (Apple TV+), Killers Of The Flower Moon (Apple TV+), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the upcoming Searchlight Pictures film, Suncoast. Inspired by movies like The Florida Project, Vagabond, and 20th Century Women, she remains passionate about stories centering young women in rural and isolated spaces that are rarely depicted on-screen. Outside of work, she enjoys spending her free time enjoying NYC’s public parks, catching screenings at Metrograph, and working on friends’ short films and personal creative projects.

Eli Canter graduated from Boston University in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Film & Television. He has written, directed, and edited many short films that have received recognition from over 20 film festivals for his work including the Austin Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival and Newport Beach Film Festival. He has also worked as a production assistant, interned at the film production company, and at a post-production house. His most recent film won Best Picture at the 2023 Redstone Film Festival in Boston.

Alanna Walsh works at The Gersh Agency, one of the country’s leading talent and literary agencies that boasts some of the world’s finest talent. With offices in Beverly Hills and New York, Gersh maintains twelve full-service departments: Talent, Literary, Film Finance, Books, Comedy, Theater, Production, Alternative, Digital, Branding, Commercial Production, and Commercial Endorsements. The agency's roster of clients includes award-winning actors, writers, producers, directors, and below-the-line talent in film, television, new media, broadcast, and stage. Alanna graduated from the University of Richmond in May 2022 with an interdisciplinary degree in Political Science, Philosophy, Economics, & Law (PPEL) with minors in Journalism and Spanish. She lives in New York City.