Los Angeles — November 10, 2022 – The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced three newly appointed additions to the Institute’s Board of Trustees. Patrick Gaspard, Lulu Wang, and Shripriya Mahesh have joined the business, cultural, and philanthropic leaders who guide and steer the entire organization and also act in an advisory capacity. They expand the Institute’s Board of values-based leaders, building an enduring, evolving community for storytellers. The distinguished new Trustees bring invaluable experience and will work closely with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente.
“The new trustees bring an invaluable depth of experience in government and civic engagement, technology and digital product development, and deep knowledge of the media, entertainment, and storytelling landscape. As Sundance’s programs continue to meet the evolving needs of independent artists, we welcome these three new Trustees who, together with the Board, will continue to strengthen ways to champion independent storytellers,” said Sundance Institute Board Chair Ebs Burnough.
“We are honored to have Lulu, Patrick and Shripriya join us as Trustees on the Board of Sundance Institute. Their vision and expertise offer us innovative leadership to continue to evolve as a cultural organization and deepen our commitment to the work,” said Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente.
Lulu Wang is an award winning director, producer and writer, Patrick Gaspard is president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and has been a leader in government, philanthropy, labor and global diplomacy and Shripriya Mahesh is the founding partner of Spero Ventures and an investor, experienced technology executive, and a filmmaker.
Asked about joining the Board, Wang said, “Sundance played a pivotal role in launching my filmmaking career and I’m honored to join the Institute’s Board to help usher in a new wave of filmmakers with singular voices.”
Patrick Gaspard shared, “I’m thrilled to join the board of Sundance as an honor and a duty, at a moment when the work of storytelling is critically connected to the work of democratic inclusion and rights protection across the globe. Sundance provides a vital scaffold for independent artists to take up the full power of expression as a value in itself and in service of community.”
Shripriya Mahesh added, “The Sundance Institute is one of the finest examples of how to support creators and help them find their path in an extremely challenging industry. It has been supporting creators well before the ‘creator economy’ became a buzzword. I’m thrilled to be able to join the board to support the Institute’s mission to enable and support incredible independent filmmakers around the world.”
