Bric Foundation Sets Lineup For Fourth Annual Summit, Taps Chris “Ludacris” Bridges To Deliver Keynote Address

The Bric Foundation, dedicated to increasing representation in the entertainment and gaming industries, today unveiled the lineup for its fourth annual Bric Summit, taking place virtually from February 11-12.

The first day of the summit, which is invite only, will open with a keynote address from Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, the musician and co-founder of kid-centric, educational entertainment platform, KidNation.

The day’s main event—combining a number of panels with breakout room brainstorming sessions—will be an executive workshop focused on the topic of “The Future of Inclusive Hiring,” led by Netflix’s Darnell Moore, Collective Moxie’s Julie Ann Crommett and other D&I Experts, with attendees also hearing research from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative on the state of diversity and inclusion in entertainment.

The second day of the summit, which is open to the public, will hinge on workshops for educators, parents and up-and-coming professionals including a Bric Creative Academy session, an Art Jam, a Careers in Animation panel, and portfolio reviews from a variety of leading animation, visual effects and gaming studios. Additional programming will include the panels Grant Writing 101 for Teachers, Careers in VFX and Careers in Games, as well as a Film Festival Submission panel led by NewFilmmakers LA’s Larry Laboe.

Additional speakers participating in the fourth Bric Summit include Marsha Cooke (ESPN), Karen Horne (WarnerMedia), Karen Toliver (Sony Pictures Animation), Hoai Scott (NBCUniversal), Suzanne Marques (CBS), Rabia Abedin (DreamWorks Animation), Kim Williams (Disney), Noah Prince (White Men as Full Diversity Partners), Jinko Gotoh (WIA), Arnon Manor (VES), Steven Issacs (Epic Games), Allison Frenzel (CA Dept of Education), Dipanjan Chatterjee (Forrester), Change Management Expert Sara Martin, DEIA Expert Emi Kamemoto, actor Aldis Hodge (Black Adam), filmmaker Shruti Ganguly, New York Times bestselling author Lindsey Pollack and activist Dan Kovalik.

“The past several years have been traumatic and divisive. In order to find unity amongst one another, we will need to take a moment to do some “deep listening”, to find empathy and understanding, and allow for dialogue and self-realization instead of being reactionary,” said talent manager Alison Mann, who co-founded Bric Foundation and serves as its CEO, also heading up Fourth Wall Animation as Co-President. “I am excited for this year’s summit, where we’ll discuss cultural shifts and talk about cancel culture. While these conversations can be tough, they are necessary, and my hope is we have some key takeaways to finding our way back to connecting and understanding each other, allowing for healing and growth.”

“Research shows that the more representation there is behind the screen, the more authentic representation you see on screen. In order to improve the talent pipeline to allow for more underserved creators to enter creative industries, we need to double down on education and create new access points,” added Nicole Hendrix, Co-Founder & Executive Director of the BRIC Foundation. “We hope our programming for educators and students will become an invaluable asset that will inspire them to pursue careers in entertainment, gaming and more.”

The Bric Foundation was founded in 2018 and is overseen by both Mann and Hendrix. In addition to hosting its annual Summit, the Foundation also runs a Creative Academy as well as Career Readiness Programs, partnering with studios and other entertainment companies to give high school students real-world experience, and educating them on various career tracks in the entertainment and tech space.

For more information on the Bric Summit and to register for it, click here.

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