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9 months ago
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Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast. I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline.
In today’s conversation I chat with Latasha Gillespie who is the Head of Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) for Amazon MGM Studios, Prime Video, and Freevee. In her role, Latasha is responsible for the development and management of all content related and customer facing DEIA work for the organization.
Under her leadership, Amazon MGM Studios created the entertainment industry’s first Inclusion Policy and Playbook, and standardized DEIA into its Greenlight Process. Latasha also created the Howard Entertainment Program, the first of its kind partnership between a major studio and an HBCU.
Prior to her current role, Latasha led the Global Diversity and Inclusion organization across Amazon, where she worked with Jeff Bezos and regularly briefed both the Board of Directors, and Congressional members on Amazon’s DEIA Strategies and progress. In addition, Latasha is credited for Amazon joining the HBCU Partnership Challenge, and founding Amazon’s Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) annual conference and curriculum.
Prior to Amazon, Latasha spent 20 years in Finance and Human Resources with Caterpillar Inc., holding various positions including Six Sigma Black Belt, Compensation and Benefits Director, and Employee and Labor Relations Director for the organization’s facilities in both U.S. and Mexico. During her tenure with Caterpillar, Latasha is credited for launching the first diversity recruiting team and the company’s Employee Resource Groups. She also held the position of Chief Diversity Officer for three years prior to relocating overseas to Singapore to serve as the organization’s Head of Human Resources for Africa, Middle East, CIS/ Russia and Asia Pacific.
In this episode Latasha and I discuss how to create lasting system change within an organization, the future of content, and why DEI initiatives are will help sustain a robust future for Hollywood.
**If you like what you hear, be sure to review, like, and subscribe to the Scene to Seen Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and iHeart.**
