CDDP_Team

OUR HISTORY

The CDDP (Commercial Directors Diversity Program) was created during contract talks between the AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers) and the DGA (Directors Guild of America).

The CDDP reflects the commitment of both organizations to effect change and increase the representation of minority and women directors specializing in commercials and marketing communications.

THE TEAM

Tamika Lamison

Program Director
CDDP

Matthew Miller

President & CEO
AICP

Melissa Brewer

Advisory Board Committee

Lisa Rich

Advisory Board Committee Leader

Ned Brown

Executive Producer

Byron Fitts

Executive Producer

Shannon Jones

Advisory Board Committee

Caleb Dewart

Executive Producer

Rich Pring

Advisory Board Committee

CDDP
Advisory Committee

Lisa Rich, Sue Yeon Ahn, Maddi Carlton, Yvette Cobarrubias, Melissa Elston, Shannon Jones, Emily Malito, Kim Nyguyen, Jessica Sanders, Michel Waxmen, Rebecca Wray, Roxanne Artesona

“Diversity is not just a catch phrase or a quota. It is a commitment to the type of change that benefits us all.”
- Tamika Lamison

Tamika Lamison
Program Director
CDDP

Tamika is a Virginia native who graduated from The American University with a BA in Performing Arts & Theatre. She currently works at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Education Department. While living in New York she wrote her first screenplay, THE JAR BY THE DOOR, which was a Sundance Finalist and won several awards including the Gordon Parks Indie Film Award. She then attended the New York Film Academy to learn filmmaking and graduated having made her first short film...

In his position as president and chief executive officer of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, Matt Miller presides over an organization whose members account for 80 to 85 percent of all nationally televised commercials in the United States. He is the spokesman for more than 350 production companies which, along with another 200 affiliated firms, comprise the AICP membership.

Founded in 1972, the AICP represents, exclusively, the interests of commercial production companies in the United States, and serves as a strong collective voice for this $5.5 billion industry, addressing its many audiences within the advertising community, business circles and government offices.

After relocating to Los Angeles, Lisa joined the DGA as a first assistant director, setting a precedent by becoming the first woman ever to be admitted into the Guild as a first AD without going through DGA training program. Her credits include the Academy Award winning Teenage Father directed by Taylor Hackford, as well as his film, The Idolmaker, Hugo Award nominee The Lathe of Heaven, Chance, and Rainy Day.

Lisa entered the world of commercials when Academy Award winning cinematographers, Haskell Wexler, ASC and Conrad Hall, ASC, asked her to become Executive Producer of their production company, Wexler-Hall. She spent two years with the company, then she and Wexler moved on to a partnership first with Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC at Cinematic Directions and then with Robert Lieberman at Harmony.

Ned is an LA native with a Minnesota upbringing. He worked his way up the production ladder of music videos and commercials in New York City, starting with summer P.A. gigs while in college. His first Executive Producer job was with The Director’s Bureau at the end of the 90s. He then went on to form Rock Fight, an award winning company that later merged with HKM.

After launching other successful ventures in LA, he joined forces with Native Content in 2014 as Partner/Executive Producer. As a gay dad and member of a bi-racial family, Ned strives to make inclusion a core value of the production community and to create pathways for all who wish to excel in the industry.

“I ask all my colleagues to join me in my pledge to use my knowledge and experience, along with my privilege and power, to make this community a welcome creative playground for all, and to support the CDDP Program in every way, promoting inclusion in all they do.”
- Ned Brown

Melissa Brewer - Eleven
Advisory Board Committee

Melissa (Elston) Brewer (Santa Monica, CA). She received her B.A. in Sociology form the University of San Diego in 2004 and her M.A. in Counseling with P.P.S. Credential from Loyola Marymount University in 2011.

Following her tenure producing private events with the City of Santa Monica and the California Yacht Club she shifted career paths and landed the Client Services position at Eleven, audio post studio. Two years later she was promoted to her current role as Executive Producer.

Caleb Dewart
Advisory Board Committee

Ever since his babysitter took him to “Midnight Express” when he was 4 years old, filmmaking has captivated Caleb. Before the internet killed the record business, Caleb produced and executive produced hundreds of music videos for artists like Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, The Black Eyed Peas, Metallica, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Green Day and Madonna.

Caleb has spent the last decade plus producing television commercials for brands ranging from Microsoft, Kraft, Nike, Comcast and Toyota to the NFL, AT&T, Starburst, Verizon, Apple and Sony.

In 2016, Caleb became an executive producer at Hungry Man.
Caleb’s family has a long history of activism that started with his grandfather, an episcopal minister who committed his life to racial equality and who marched with Dr. King in Selma in 1965.

Byron Fitts - The Department
Advisory Board Committee

Byron Fitts, Executive Producer of The Department, has been a fixture in production in the southwest with a career that spans over two decades. Byron has produced projects for various production companies, in addition to those as an agency producer at The Richards Group and agency freelance producer.

With his experience in advertising and production, Byron founded The Department in 2013. Having just completed serving two terms as AICP Southwest President, and on the AICP National Board, Byron is both Vice President and Chairman of the Education Committee of AICP Southwest.

“It’s baffling that we still have to have conversations about diversity today, in an industry steeped in free-thinking and creativity. ”
- Byron Fitts

Shannon Jones - Smuggler Films
Advisory Board Committee

Shannon Jones is a film and commercial Producer born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.

In 2010, Shannon joined Smuggler Films, a highly acclaimed production company with a vast roster of award winning directors. She collaborated with a number of high profile directors, including Tom Hooper, Todd Field, Bennett Miller, Chris Smith, Mark Molloy, Adam Berg, Randy Krallman, Brian Beletic and Filip Engstrom. The work Shannon produced while at Smuggler won many of the industry’s top honors, including Cannes Lions, Webby’s, Clios, AD&D Pencils, and AICP awards.

She enjoys working as a creative partner with directors, helping them develop the best version of an idea.

Rich Pring - Reverie
Advisory Board Committee

As an Executive Producer since 2007, Rich has led campaigns for major brands including Apple, Nike, Target, GE, NBA, ESPN, Nintendo, Miu Miu, Honda, Beats by Dre, Amazon, & the US Army to name a few.

In 2019, Rich co-founded Reverie Content with the desire to cultivate a diverse family of filmmakers, collaborators and artists who have a distinct voice and create with an ever-changing mindset. From traditional spot makers to feature film directors, writers, producers, animators and designers inside the Reverie studio.

“It is finally feeling like the commercial industry as a whole understands that we need a more diverse set of filmmakers. Inclusion and representation matter.”

- Rich Pring