Wheelhouse and Village Community Foundation pioneered LaunchPad, an initiative designed to open more paths to careers in entertainment, sports and investment for students and youth from underserved communities.
LaunchPad provides mentoring, career development, real-world work experience, and access to prominent companies and executives, along with recruiting programs that include experiential learning sessions, interview coaching, and internships. Partner companies include WME, Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment, ITV America, A&E Global Media, Zillow, Versant, MillerKnoll and others.
Created as part of the Village Community Foundation in 2023, LaunchPad has seen over 1,000 young people participate so far, but now news is that the initiative is expanding to serve the greater New York metropolitan area, with its headquarters located in Stamford, Connecticut. According to the foundation, LaunchPad is in talks with more Los Angeles-based companies to join the effort.
LaunchPad is led by President John Winkle, and Rasheed J. TeamSheed Productions’ Daniel and Paramount CEO Makeda Mays Green serve as co-presidents, while Corey Twitty, Zillow’s chief executive talent officer, serves as vice president.
“With LaunchPad, we are getting to work on what it takes to discover, engage and support emerging, underserved talent who exude grit and determination but simply need an opportunity and someone to advocate on their behalf with the weight of this board – a board carefully selected because of each person’s commitment to making a difference in the lives of these young people,” Wheelhouse CEO Brent Montgomery explained.
Winkel added, “Since we began our youth upliftment journey with the Village Community Foundation, our goal has been to create life-changing career opportunities for those who need them most, with a genuine interest in those first jobs that can change lives and break cycles. Having now served and worked with over 1,000 youth, we are in awe of the industry response from senior partners and their executives, which has been absolutely amazing.”
Even Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont chimed in, praising LaunchPad and its results for their “perfect” alignment with the state’s priorities to “build the workforce of the future” while uplifting those in need. “LaumontPad is a major creator of access and opportunity in the worlds of entertainment, sports and finance – and we are excited about its future and the industries it serves,” said Lamont.
List of LaunchPad’s Board of Directors is below.
— Sonali Basak, Managing Director, iCapital
— Eileen Frontaine Bryant, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming, A&E, Lifetime and LMN
— Rashid J. Daniel, Founder and CEO of Team Sheed
— Gary Dell’Abate, SiriusXM host and executive producer
— Jim DeMaine, Founder and CEO of Critical Path Advisors
— Lisa Fox, University of Southern California, Director of Talent Development for First Jobs
— David George, CEO, ITV America
— Robert Goldberg, Goldberg Family Foundation
— Caitlin Gray, Bloc Party Partner
— Makeda Mace Green, senior vice president, Paramount
— Evan Gilley, FFO
— Celia Cole, senior vice president of strategy and business development at Versant
— Jason Hodes, senior partner at WME
— Stephanie Leonard, executive director of comedy production at Netflix
— Gary Leszewski, Tier 1 Fund Partner
— Ross McCarroll, CEO, Pocket Square Productions
– Brent Montgomery, CEO and Founder, Wheelhouse
— George Norfleet, executive director of the Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media
— Debbie Probst, President, MillerKnoll Global Retail
— Sandra Richards, global managing director of sports and entertainment at Morgan Stanley
— Brooke Shepherd, Founder and CEO of Monogram Mary
— Corey Twitty, Head of Executive Talent, Talent Intelligence and Emerging Talent at Zillow
