Solutionaries: Romola Ratnam and Fanshen Cox talk about Inclusion in Hollywood
Fanshen Cox, a producer at Pearl Street Films, is one of the co-founders of the Hollywood inclusion rider, which holds movie makers accountable for diversity and inclusion. She joins Romola Ratnam SVP of Social Impact at Endeavor for a discussion on how this powerful idea can now be used in other industries like fashion.
Romola Ratnam
SVP of Social Impact at Endeavor
Romola Ratnam, SVP of Social Impact at Endeavor, has been tasked with leveraging Endeavor’s vast network to drive social change.
Romola oversaw the launch of Endeavor Impact, the company’s social impact brand focused on four key pillars: equity, democracy, industry inclusion and sustainability. Romola also leads the Endeavor Foundation, and has realigned its activities to support overall industry inclusion and to fund programs that align with its mission to ensure that sports, entertainment and fashion industries are accessible to all, and reflective of the populations that live in our communities and consume our content.
Romola oversees WME’s partnership with Color of Change and Michael B. Jordan on #ChangeHollywood, an initiative to drive racial and social justice across Hollywood, and the company’s thirty-three actions to increase equity internally, in Endeavor’s spheres of influence across the industry.
Romola and her team also developed and run Endeavor’s virtual Industry Education programs such as Summer Series, NXT and the Excellence Program in partnership with Sean Combs. To date, these programs have provided 12,000+ students with industry coursework, masterclass sessions with senior executives, and opportunities to enter and succeed in sports, entertainment and fashion. Endeavor has hired over 30 students from these programs into the company.
Prior to her current role, Romola was Director of Corporate and Sports Partnership at UNICEF USA, and previously served as a Co-Executive Director of the SEED Project – a sports and education non-profit based in Senegal. She began her career at the National Basketball Association in Global Business Development, with a focus on their philanthropic unit, NBA Cares.
Fanshen Cox
Actor, Educator, Writer, Producer
Award-winning playwright, actor, producer & educator, Fanshen Cox toured her one-woman show: One Drop of Love across the country for 7 years. Fanshen is also a Producer and Development Executive at Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Pearl Street Films. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cape Verde, West Africa, and holds a BA in Spanish & Education, an MA in TESOL, and an MFA in TV, Film & Theatre. She has been honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards from CSULA and from Teachers College, Columbia University. Fanshen is also a co-author of the Inclusion Rider which was announced at the 2018 Oscar awards by Frances McDormand and the co-creator and co-host of the Webby-nominated podcast Sista Brunch – highlighting Black women striving in entertainment and media.
