Meet The Stage 32 Education Team

Hi Stage 32ers!

We're Sam Sokolow and Rosemond Perdue, and we're now running the Stage 32 education department. We both bring extensive backgrounds in many different aspects of the entertainment industry to the table and will turn over every stone to provide you with important and meaningful education to support your creative and career journeys.

Our goal is simple but powerful, to democratize the entertainment industry so content creators, producers, financiers, and artists of all kinds all over the world can access the best and most up-to-date training and education to realize their career goals and aspirations.

Please let us know what you are working on, what your ultimate goals are, and what you would like to see programmed by the Stage 32 education department. The best education experiences are two-way streets so please communicate with us. Let's make this a conversation that you can get the most out of.

It's an honor to be working with you all.

Check out the video below to hear a little more from Sam and Rosemond and what they have in store for the Stage 32 education.

Sam Sokolow is a two-time Emmy-nominated producer and educator. As the Stage 32 Director of Education, Sam runs the education division and leads the development of new education strategies and programs. 

Sam is an Executive Producer of the National Geographic Network's GENIUS which Sam developed from book to series. Over its first three seasons, the show has garnered 20 Emmy nominations, including two Best Limited Series nominations for Sam. The series has starred Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein, Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso, and Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin. The pilot was directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard, and Suzan-Lori Parks served as the showrunner of season three.

Sam is the founder of Sokolow & Co. where he oversees all aspects of television and film development and physical production. Sam previously founded Nice Media Studios and was the President of EUE/Sokolow and was also a founding partner of SokoLobl entertainment. While leading these companies, Sam executive produced 18 original TV series and set up dozens of television and film projects at every major studio and distributor in Hollywood. He also co-wrote, produce, and directed the award-winning independent feature film THE DEFINITE MAYBE starring Josh Lucas, Roy Scheider, and Bob Balaban.

Sam is a teacher and a mentor. Sam has taught college and graduate level classes at the Boston University LA Program for the last 6 years. His classes at BULA, “Careers in Hollywood,” and “A Creative Life In Television” give students real-world tools that they can use when seeking their first jobs in the entertainment industry and when rising through the industry. 

Your new Education Marketing Specialist, Rosemond Perdue, is a TV producer, marketing, and distribution executive focusing on international entertainment. 

Rosemond's passion for international formats led her to be chosen as a Producer to Watch by 2021's MIPTV International TV conference. She is a member of the International Academy of TV Arts and Sciences and was selected as a semi-final judge for 2022's International Emmy Awards. With a particular focus on Korean TV, Rosemond is a lecturer at Konkuk University Seoul, has led training seminars for Korean producers through KOCCA, the Korean content agency, and serves as a guest lecturer on Korean entertainment with the US Embassy Korea.

She co-directed and established the first international event at the Catalyst Content Festival in 2021 for emerging Korean TV and animation creators.

Previously, she served as VP/Sales & Marketing for distribution company Small World IFT, representing broadcasters. She was a founding partner of the entertainment production and marketing firm Bungalow 3 which marketed TV shows and channels internationally. Clients included CBS, Sony, Disney, and Nippon TV. The firm created digital and full-length series and specials for networks. 

Stage 23 Education Team Members: Sara Elizabeth Timmins, Emily j., Kayla Banton

Sara Elizabeth Timmins is the Education Producer. A savvy businessperson and producer whose gift for relationship and community building sets her projects apart. In 2008, she established Life Out Loud Films to balance business and art to create quality, inspiring, impactful films and champion women. Her tenacity and drive first made an impression with the success of LAKE EFFECTS (Jane Seymour), on the Hallmark Channel and she co-produced/line-produced the feature COMING THROUGH THE RYE with Chris Cooper as legendary J.D Salinger, WISH YOU WELL, based on the novel by New York Times best-selling author David Baldacci (Ellen Burstyn, Josh Lucas and Mackenzie Foy). She is currently in development on several films and field-produced McMillions for Mark Wahlberg’s company and HBO premiering at Sundance 2020. She also works as a consultant for both films and filmmakers and has produced national commercial campaigns for companies like Meyer Natural Foods & Laura’s Lean.

Emily J. is the team Editor and has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade, most recently at Imagine Entertainment where she worked for the EVP of International to develop projects under the Netflix brand. Emily has worked with many entertainment companies, including MRC, Darren Star Productions, Corday Productions, Company 3, 42 West, and more. Emily has also shared her passion for development and screenwriting by serving as a writer and editor for several entertainment and screenwriting websites.

Education Assistant Kayla Banton started her career behind the camera. She joined Stage 32 on the creative services team and has a decade of experience working hand in hand with clients to make sure that she is adopting a "client first" model. Her mission is to provide extraordinary customer service to all of our community.

Got an idea for a post? Or have you collaborated with Stage 32 members to create a project? We'd love to hear about it. Email Emily at emily@stage32.com and let's get your post published!

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