NYPA Newsletter: 5 Questions With Keisha Katz
Five Questions With is a new feature in the NYPA newsletter to give members and company representatives a chance to get to know each other. First up, newly elected Board member, Keisha Katz.
My name is Keisha Katz and I'm the Director of Workforce and External Partnerships at Reel Works. In my role, at Reel Works I lead their citywide workforce program, MediaMKRS, which aims to bring together industry leaders, educators, and local government to train and credential rising talent. Prior to coming to Reel Works, I worked in unscripted television for companies like NBCU, Radical Media and ABC. I'm a wife and a mother of a fun-loving toddler.
What is your favorite memory of working in our industry? I worked in unscripted television after college, and did a lot of true-crime and docu series related to current events. However, my favorite memory was doing the behind-the-scenes special for NBC's The Wiz Live! It was a fun set and I got to interview diverse, talented performers and celebrities. We also had a very quick turnaround in the edit, so it was always an exciting time.
NYPA values mentorship. Have you had a mentor, and if so, what was the best piece of advice they gave? I've had a few mentors throughout the seasons in my life. When I was at Reel Works as a high school student, I was paired with a female filmmaker who I ended up staying in touch with years after I finished college. I don't remember any specific advice other than to keep networking and learning.
COVID reshuffled the deck for many folks. How did it impact you and what are you doing differently? The pandemic was a challenging time for many personally, of course. Professionally, it caused me to completely revamp my workstyle and allowed me to really act in the leadership role I was in. I had to rally my team, and keep up the morale. We had to problem-solve together and try new things. We trained students and rising professionals all in the virtual space. So much that we learned during the pandemic has impacted our programming today. The quarterly Advisory Council meetings that we run are now permanently virtually which allows us to engage our media companies across the country and has dramatically improved our attendance. We have employees working completely remotely in other states who are experts in the areas that we were recruiting for. Most importantly, we are serving more individuals from marginalized communities than ever before.
What are you watching/reading/listening to that you're most excited about? I don't have a ton of time for personal entertainment with a toddler at home. When I have a few moments these days I try to get outside and enjoy the sun. I am seeing more diverse content from across my social media feeds and I started listening to a couple of interesting podcasts recently, and that's always exciting.
What is inspiring you today? Today, I'm inspired about how critically people are looking at societal norms and are challenging how things have always been done. I'm inspired when I see that reflected in the media and in front of and behind the camera. I'm also inspired by how resilient the next generation of creatives are, especially those who struggled during the pandemic. People are passionate about their work and ready to elevate their careers.