July 22, 2019
Directors Jono Oliver and Louis Venosta have been elected as co-chairs of the DGA’s Eastern Diversity Steering Committee (EDSC). They join Associate Director Joyce A. Thomas, who was reelected to her fourth term in the post.
The EDSC represents the concerns of Guild members of African, Asian, Native American, Arab-Middle Eastern or Latino descent residing in the East. Committed to improving the employment opportunities, working conditions and the skills of ethnically diverse Guild members, the EDSC sponsors workshops, seminars, round-table discussions and networking events to showcase the talents of its members, recognize their contributions, and increase their visibility in the industry.
JONO OLIVER
Jono Oliver joined the Guild in 1993. As an AD, he has had a career in film and television production that has included more than 50 projects, including the films Fences, Notorious, Guess Who, The Great Debaters, John Tucker Must Die, Snake Eyes, The Shadow, and Soul Food. More recently he wrote and directed the independent feature film Home, and he has directed multiple episodes of the network television shows Law & Order: SVU, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Bull, and The Enemy Within.
JOYCE A. THOMAS
Entering her fourth term as EDSC Co-Chair, Joyce Thomas has worked at CBS for more than 30 years, joining the Guild in 1996 as an Associate Director/Technical Director in the Broadcast Operations Department and currently working as an Associate Director/Technical Manager at the network’s Media Distribution Center in New York. Elected to the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council nine times, Thomas has served three terms as Council Chair, and has also served as 1st Vice Chairperson, 2nd Vice Chairperson, and Co-Chair of the AD/SM/PA 75th Anniversary Sesame Street event. Thomas is currently an Associate National Board Member and has served on three Network Agreement Negotiating Committees.
LOUIS VENOSTA
Louis Venosta began his career as a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, Maurice Bejart's Ballet du XXe Siécle, Puerto Rican Dance Theater, and the Louis Falco Dance Company which led to his role as a principal dancer in Alan Parker's Fame. He wrote the screenplays for The Last Dragon and Bird On A Wire. His directing debut was the short film The Coriolis Effect, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before winning a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. More recently, he directed on Grey's Anatomy and is currently developing multiple original series projects for television and a Broadway Musical production of The Last Dragon.