2025 Gotham EDU Film and Media Career Development Program Cohort Announced
by The Gotham Staff on June 18, 2025
Seventh Cycle of the Gotham EDU Program Includes Focused Tracks in Narrative Filmmaking, Documentary Filmmaking, Television & Episodic, New Media & Entrepreneurship, Executive Leadership, and Multi-Hyphenate Work
New York, NY (June 18, 2025) – The Gotham announced today its selections for the Summer 2025 cohort of The Gotham EDU Film and Media Career Development Program, The Gotham’s seven-week program for catapulting students into the media workforce with mentorship, candid industry insights, comprehensive resources, and support in developing their selected projects.
The expanded 2025 curriculum will span pitching, nonprofit management, film festival strategy, entrepreneurship, and representation, with open conversations and workshops that allow students to explore opportunities and carve a strategic path into the media industry. Students are selected into one of six focused tracks that will be explored through conversations with industry professionals in their field of interest: Narrative Filmmaking, Documentary Filmmaking, Television & Episodic, New Media & Entrepreneurship, Executive Leadership, and Multi-Hyphenate Work. In previous EDU cycles, session leaders have included successful independent filmmakers as well as insightful representatives from companies such as Netflix, CAA, PBS, MACRO, and ColorCreative.
“Now in its seventh year, the Gotham EDU Career Development program is proud to welcome 37 standout students from an array of colleges and universities from across the country,” said Kia Brooks, The Gotham’s Deputy Director. “With the new programmatic tracks, students will gain hands-on experience tailored to their goals—setting them up for the next step in their careers.”
The Film and Media Career Development Program is supported through corporate, philanthropic, and institutional support. Corporate support is led by NBCUniversal as well as Philanthropic and Institutional support for this program is led by the Burke Family Foundation, Colgate University and the Islamic Scholarship Fund. This combined support allows for the Career Development Program to provide full tuition for all 37 selected students.
“Gotham EDU continues to open the door for emerging talent, offering students a rare opportunity to engage directly with working professionals at a formative moment in their creative lives,” said Jeffrey Sharp, The Gotham’s Executive Director. “Thanks to incredible generosity of our supporters and partners, the program has grown into a vital launchpad for the next generation of storytellers and film and media executives, with alumni already making their mark across the industry.”
The Gotham EDU 2025 Career Development Program runs from June 16 to August 1, 2025. The first Career Development Program was held with 22 students in 2020. The Summer 2025 program will be the seventh edition with 37 students representing 20 colleges and universities. It will continue to be run virtually to improve access for students across the country.
The student participants will also have the opportunity to attend this year’s Gotham Week. Select students will participate in shadowing opportunities with companies including Storm City Films through the Executive Ambassador track.
The program now has 153 alumni representing 35 schools. Student alumni of the program have gone on to work at A24, Apple, Amazon Studios, CBS News, HBO Documentaries, Letterboxd, PBS Kids, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Showtime Networks, Nickelodeon, Nike, NBC Universal, Paramount, and the United Talent Agency (UTA).
The list of the 37 students selected for the Gotham EDU 2025 Career Development Program are as follows:
Executive Ambassador Track
Olivia Jane Graff, Savannah College of Art and Design
David Diouf, Northwestern University
Gabriela Rey, University of Southern California
Executive Leadership Track
Jessi Calidonio, Dartmouth College
Isabella Ohrt, Colgate University
Elizabeth Haberland-Ervin, New York University
Narrative Filmmaker Track
Don Ahmad, New York University
Beckett Lucas-Griffin, Yale University
Lisa Dodell, Pratt Institute
Aldo Morales, New Mexico State University
Leslie Ann Meléndez, Emerson College
Caitlyn Johnson , New York University
Alexander Prince, Illinois State University
Sidney Poitier Initiative Track for Multi-Hyphenates
Daphne Joyce Wu, Yale University
Nana Duffuor, Columbia University
Amber Rachelle Butler, University of Southern California
Juan Carlos Contreras, Columbia University
Havana Durango, Miami Dade College
Samundra Raj Ghimire, American University
New Media & Entrepreneurship Track
Sherif Ibrahim, Columbia University
Brittany Cohen, Colgate University
Minsun Kim, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema
Shagun Kanwar, University of Southern California
Chelsea Wilson, University of Georgia
Aarushi Shrivastav, Pratt Institute
Television & Episodic Track
Pierce Whitney, New York University
Caiden Williams, Colgate University
Grace Owusu-Amoah, Colgate University
Sydnee Roberts-Crews, Ohio State University
Erika Guadalupe Luna, University of California – Davis
Jackson Heller, Northwestern University
Molly Stanfield, Northwestern University
Documentary Track
Shuhei Matsutoya, Colgate University
Sophia Abolfathi, University of Florida
Vanessa Cruz, CUNY Brooklyn College
Jean Chapiro Uziel, Columbia University
Tobias Zuniga-Shaw, Ohio State University
About the Gotham Film & Media Institute
The Gotham celebrates and nurtures independent film and media creators, providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition. The organization, under the leadership of Executive Director and award-winning producer Jeffrey Sharp, fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Gotham Week, Gotham Labs, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Awards, Gotham EDU, Owning It, and Expanding Communities.
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