On February 16, ahead of their online meeting, the Women’s Steering Committee (WSC) hosted the discussion, Lean In To Leadership. The event featured DGA Past President Paris Barclay, WSC Co-Chair Maria Burton and DGA National Board Member Julie Gelfand in a conversation moderated by Director Tara Miele.
Following an introduction by Burton, she and the other panelists covered subjects including levels of participation in the Guild, and avenues for participation. During the conversation, Barclay revealed his path to leadership, Gelfand explained the importance of Council participation, and Burton spoke about the rewards of volunteering.
Following the moderated portion of the conversation, the panelists fielded questions submitted by the online audience.
About the Panelists:
 Paris Barclay
A preeminent force in television entertainment, Barclay has directed more than 150 episodes of television and was active as a Director/Producer for series including: Station 19, Pitch, The Bastard Executioner, Sons of Anarchy, Cold Case, City of Angels and NYPD Blue. He also has directed episodes of House, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, CSI, Lost, The Shield, The West Wing and ER; as well as the feature Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood; and the movies for television The Cherokee Kid, The Big Time and Pedro. He earned two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Drama Series for NYPD Blue, received six additional Emmy nominations for both producing and directing, garnered ten DGA Award nominations and became the first Director in the history of the Guild to receive a comedy and a drama nomination in the same year, two years in a row (In Treatment and Weeds in 2008; In Treatment and Glee in 2009). He won the 1998 DGA Dramatic Series Award for his NYPD Blue episode “Heart and Souls.” A DGA member since 1992, Barclay was the first African-American and openly gay President in the Guild’s history. In addition to his two terms as President of the Guild, his service includes numerous terms on the National Board and Western Directors Council and chairmanship and participation in several committees. He was honored with the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award in 2007, which is given for providing extraordinary service to the DGA. In 2021, he was honored with the DGA Honorary Life Member Award in recognition of leadership in the industry, contribution to the Guild and the profession of directing, and outstanding career achievement. |
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 Maria Burton
Named by Variety as a “talent to watch,” Maria Burton has directed five successful feature films including Just Friends, Temps, Manna from Heaven and A Sort of Homecoming. Her sixth feature, For the Love of George, is currently in post for a 2018 release. Other directing projects include the documentary Sign My Snarling Movie about the popular a cappella singing group, The Bobs; the short film Stephen Kanner: A Retrospective, about the visionary architect; and the web series Old Guy. Through her production company, Five Sisters Productions, which she formed with her real-life siblings, she has also worked on social and political campaigns including commercials for the #MarchingForward viral video, the Mamas for Obama campaign and the campaign for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. She has been a DGA member since 2014 and serves as a Co-Chair of the Women’s Steering Committee.
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 Julie Gelfand
Gelfand is an Associate Director working primarily on live variety and reality shows. She has been the Associate Director on Big Brother for the last 16 years and has worked on such programs as Oscars Red Carpet, the Golden Globes, the American Music Awards, I Love You America with Sarah Silverman, MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon, A Home for the Holidays, Twitch Rivals: GlitchCon and Streamer Bowl II, The NHL 100 and many, many more. A DGA s member since 1992, Gelfand was elected an Alternate to the AD/SM/PA Council West at the second meeting she attended and has been on the Council ever since, serving as Council Chair 2014-2015. She has also served on the DGA National Board since 2011 as 2nd Alternate and Associate Board member and has served as the Board Member representing the AD/SM/PA West category since 2017. In 2015, Gelfand was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner award for outstanding service to the DGA. |
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 Tara Miele (moderator)
Miele’s most recent film, Wander Darkly, premiered in US Dramatic Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Her other projects include the feature films Starving in Suburbia, Gone Missing and The Lake Effect and the movie for television Lost Boy. She is also well known for the viral video Meet a Muslim which she created to combat Islamophobia and directed the backdoor pilot, Green Arrow and The Canaries, in addition to episodes of Batwoman, Arrow, and Hawaii Five-0. Miele joined the DGA in 2015. |
ABOUT THE COMMITTEE:
The Women's Steering Committee (WSC) was created to advance the professional interests of its members, and to heighten their visibility and career opportunities in the entertainment industry. The WSC currently promotes diversity through sponsoring net-working events, screenings and seminars, and fosters relationships between the members to provide support, mentoring and networking opportunities. The WSC’s current Co-Chairs are Maria Burton, Hanelle Culpepper and Liz Ryan.