Creative Council

Elizabeth Banks is a producer, director, writer, actor, and long-time advocate for reproductive rights. Since 2012, Elizabeth has been a steadfast supporter and ally of the Center. In her advocacy and in her work, Elizabeth believes in the power of sharing women’s stories.

Elizabeth is a three-time Emmy nominee for “30 Rock” and “Modern Family.” She will soon begin production on the women’s rights drama “Call Jane” which follows a 1950s housewife (Banks) as she deals with an unplanned pregnancy. Banks was recently seen in the critically acclaimed Limited Series “Mrs. America” playing ‘Jill Ruckelshaus.’ In 2019 she wrote, directed, performed in, and produced “Charlie’s Angels,” through her company Brownstone Productions. The company is best known for producing the hit “Pitch Perfect” franchise. Banks’s feature directorial debut on “Pitch Perfect 2,” garnered her the “Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year” at the 2015 CinemaCon Awards.

In 2019, she was the first female director to receive the Will Rogers Motion Pictures ‘Pioneer of the Year’ award. Other film credits include “The Hunger Games” franchise, “Love & Mercy,” “The LEGO Movie,” “W,” and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” among others. For the small screen, she is currently producing season three of the critically acclaimed Hulu series “Shrill” which touches on the complex realities that women face when making personal decisions about their reproductive health, families, careers, and futures.

Amy holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Harvard University (with a specialty in Indo-Tibetan traditions) and is a founding member of the award -winning Cornerstone Theater Company, which specializes in site-specific original theater pieces centered on themes of social justice.

Other theater credits include CSC Repertory, Yale Rep, Lincoln Center, Williamstown Theater Festival, LA Theater Works, LATC, The American Repertory Theater, Playwrights Horizons and the Geffen Theater.  

TV Credits include “Judging Amy” (two TV Guide Awards, three Golden Globe Award nominations, Producer’s Guild Nomination, three Emmy Award nominations, People’s Choice Award nomination and a SAG nomination.)  Amy created and executive produced the show, which was based on the work of her mother, the Honorable Frederica Brenneman. Other TV: “NYPD Blue,” “Frasier,” “Private Practice,” “Veep,” “The Leftovers” and the upcoming “Tell Me Your Secrets” (Amazon) and “The Old Man” (Hulu) opposite Jeff Bridges.   

Films include NINE LIVES, THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB, CASPER, HEAT, DAYLIGHT, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, FEAR, BYE- BYE LOVE, THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER, THE LOOK OF LOVE and WORDS AND PICTURES opposite Clive Owen.

Amy’s wrote and performed the plays MOUTH WIDE OPEN (The Yard, American Repertory Theater) and THRESHOLD (The Yard), as well as directed the documentary “The Way the World Should Be” about inclusive special education in America.  As a teacher, she has taught drama and creative process at the CHIME Charter School, which specializes in educating children of all abilities.  She has also taught at Harvard, UCLA and others.

For her activist work, Amy has been honored by Women in Film, The Brady Center, the League of Women Voters, the California State Assembly, the National Children’s Alliance, the Chime Institute, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the Help Group, the Producer’s Guild of America, among others. She traveled to Peru as an ambassador for CARE and was elected to the Screen Actors Guild Board of Directors. In 2016, she was part of the amicus brief for the Supreme Court case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, ensuring that abortion clinics remained open in Texas and elsewhere; she received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from The Feminist Majority for her ongoing commitment to reproductive rights. In 2019, Amy received the Change Agent Award from En Garde Arts in New York.  She has served as keynote speaker for NARAL, Cal-Tash, The Council for Exceptional Children and on the steps Supreme Court.

Lisa Edelstein began her career writing and producing the first AIDS awareness musical, POSITIVE ME at NYC’s LA MAMA theater.  It was the late 80’s, amidst the AIDS crisis, and it was the first time she had understood how to use her creativity for activism – a powerful experience. In that light, she played TV’s first out lesbian character (Relativity, ABC), a transwoman (Ally McBeal, FOX) and a sex worker (West Wing, NBC.) Many jobs later, she became well-known to a world-wide audience for her seven seasons co-starring on the hit Fox medical drama “House.” She then starred for five seasons in “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” a series about a newly divorced working woman in crisis who has to rediscover herself in order to re-engage with life. The show not only gave Edelstein the opportunity to show her dramatic and comedic range as the lead, but also the chance to creatively expand into a writer, producer and director on the show.  That led her to adapt a short story by Etgar Keret entitled “Unzipping” into a short film which she also directed and starred in.  She’s parlayed the success of that short into the dramatic feature, “How to Set a Fire and Why” which she’s adapted and will also direct.   In front of the camera, she stars in the Golden Globe-winning Netflix series “The Kominsky Method” opposite Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas, which she’s been juggling with her recurring role on Ryan Murphy’s “911: Lone Star” reuniting her with her “West Wing” paramour, Rob Lowe. Throughout it all, she finds ways to continue work as an activist. She is a proud supporter of ADL, The Center for Reproductive Rights, Physicians for Reproductive Rights, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Planned Parenthood and many others.

Called “a master of the genre” by The New York Times, Sarah Jones is a Tony® Award-winning solo performer, writer, comedian and activist. She recently made her debut as a film director with Sell/Buy/Date, in which she also stars. The hybrid documentary, executive produced by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, world premiered at the SXSW film festival as an opening night selection. 

Jones is mainly known for her multi-character one-person shows, including Broadway hit Bridge & Tunnel, originally produced by Streep, and the critically-acclaimed play Sell/Buy/Date, which inspired the film. She has also appeared in various film and TV projects, including co-starring (along with Elisabeth Shue, Giovanni Ribisi, and Julie Delpy) in the Netflix series, On the Verge.

Renowned as “a one-woman global village,” Jones has given multiple main-stage TED Talks garnering millions of views, performed for President and First Lady Obama at the White House, and gave a performance at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as the first artist on its stage normally reserved for heads of state. She has also been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, raising awareness of gender, ethnic, racial, and economic injustice and disparities, including in the United States.

Jones also recently launched Foment Productions, a social justice-focused entertainment company aligned with her progressive activism, with Sell/Buy/Date as its first production. The film tackles the intersection of race, gender justice, the economy, and various other issues through the unexpected lens of the sex industry. Using humor, investigative interviews, and her own personal story, the film highlights how this topic is closer and more relevant to all of our lives than we may realize.

Aja Naomi King starred as Michaela Pratt for six seasons on the hit ABC drama HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER. She most recently wrapped a leading role in the feature film THE KNIFE opposite Melissa Leo and director, Nnamdi Asomugha. Other recent work includes, a leading role in the romantic comedy BOXING DAY opposite Aml Ameen who also directs, along with hit narrative podcast, BLACKOUT for QCode where she can be heard opposite Academy Award winner Rami Malek in Season 2.

Other work includes the feature film SYLVIE’S LOVE opposite Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha released by Amazon Studios, a leading role in the feature film THE 24TH written by Kevin Willmott (Academy Award for “Best Adapted Screenplay” for BlacKkKlansman), SHRIVER opposite Michael Shannon and Kate Hudson, THE UPSIDE opposite Kevin Hart, Nicole Kidman, and Bryan Cranston, a lead role in Fox Searchlight’s THE BIRTH OF A NATION, which won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, and the lead role in A GIRL FROM MOGADISHU which is based on the testimony of Ifrah Ahmed, who emerged as one of the world’s foremost international activists against Gender Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation. King has also appeared as the leading role in the feature film REVERSION, Whit Stillman’s DAMSELS IN DISTRESS, THE REWRITE for Castle Rock with Hugh Grant, a lead role in Christopher Shinn’s FOUR opposite Wendell Pierce. King .

Aja received the “Shining Star” at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards, a NAACP Image Award Nomination for “Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film, the Elle Women in Hollywood Award, and a “Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series” NAACP Image Award nomination.

Aja is on the Artistic Advisory Board of OPENING ACT, an organization that provides students in New York City’s most under-served public high schools opportunities to develop leadership, community, and commitment through its innovative, high quality, free, After-School Theater Program.

King is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and resides in Los Angeles with her husband and their son. 

Cindi Leive is a journalist, media leader and advocate for women. A cultural critic who  appears frequently on TV and live events, she is the former editor-in-chief of both Glamour  and Self magazines; the force behind barrier-breaking initiatives like Glamour Women of the Year (the  country’s preeminent event showcasing women) and The Girl Project (supporting girls’ education); and the author or producer of numerous books including the 2018 New York Times bestseller Together We Rise, about the making of the Women’s March. Cindi has interviewed heads of state, Hollywood and fashion’s biggest personalities, and iconic leaders from all walks of life. Her many awards and honors include recognition from the White  House, the United Nations, and various media organizations. She is currently a senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center.

Carol Lim and Humberto Leon are the co-founders and co-creative directors of Opening Ceremony, an international clothing brand found online and in select boutiques around the world. 

Lim and Leon met during their studies at University of California, Berkeley, where Lim graduated with a B.A. in Economics, and Leon with a B.A. in Art Practice and American Studies.

Inspired by their world travels together, the duo left their jobs in the corporate fashion sector to start Opening Ceremony in 2002. The brand, colloquially known as OC, grew from its first flagship store on Howard Street in New York into a global brand with stores in Los Angeles and Tokyo. Opening Ceremony was renowned for scouting emerging fashion talent from around the world and supporting them alongside well-established designers.

Today, OC continues to produce a ready-to-wear clothing and accessories line that shows two collections each year. The OC collection is distributed to hundreds of international retailers and worn by notables including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake, Cate Blanchett, Justin Bieber, and members of the Obama family.

In addition, OC continues to grow on its founding principles of exploration and friendship, working with a family of contributors to forge creative projects. Over the years, OC has collaborated with brands including Google, Intel, Disney, Coach, Pendleton, Levi’s, Vans, Topshop, Rodarte and Maison Martin Margiela, and has become known for projects with creatives including Spike Jonze, Yoko Ono, Terence Koh, Chloë Sevigny, Whoopi Goldberg, Justin Peck, Syd Mead and Sasha Velour.

In 2011, OC was elected by Fast Company as one of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.” In 2012, Rizzoli published a book to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the brand. In 2016, OC received the prestigious Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion Design.

In July 2011, French luxury group LVMH appointed Leon and Lim as co-creative directors of KENZO, a storied Parisian fashion house founded in 1969 by Kenzo Takada. During their tenure, KENZO has successfully re- launched around the world as the source for vibrant, forward-thinking contemporary fashion.  Their last collection for SS20 was presented as a historical fashion moment with a performance by Solange.

Through various mediums including fashion shows, advertising, image and film, KENZO’s reach has expanded far beyond the world of fashion and into popular culture. The brand has collaborated with innovators including Jean- Paul Goude, TOILETPAPER, Carrie Brownstein, Natasha Lyonne, Karen O, Gregg Araki and Kahlil Joseph.

In 2016, Lim and Leon oversaw the release of KENZO’s first fragrance, KENZOWORLD, which was launched with an internet-breaking film directed by Spike Jonze and starring Margaret Qualley. In November 2016, KENZO and H&M collaborated on a highly -coveted collection that sold out instantly in stores around the globe. In 2017, KENZO was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, attributed to Leon & Lim’s multi-pronged approach to collaboration and advertising. In 2018, Leon wrote and directed his first film, “The Everything,” which served as KENZO’s Fall/Winter 2018 campaign film.

Lim and Leon are judges for the LVMH Fashion Fund, advisors to the Parsons School for Design, and members of the selection jury for the ANDAM Fashion Award. In 2017, Lim and Leon were honored by New York nonprofit arts organization Creative Time at their annual gala. Lim and Leon have also been honored with the President’s Award for Excellence in Retail Innovation from the Academy of Art in San Francisco; Apex for Youth’s Inspiration Award; The Daily Front Row “Fashion Innovators” Award; The Fashion Group International’s 2018 Fashion Star Award.

Busy Philipps  is a New York Times Best-Selling author, actor, activist and previous late-night talk show host of BUSY TONIGHT. She served as executive producer on  the show, alongside Tina Fey.  In 2018, she released a collection of humorous autobiographical essays in her book THIS WILL ONLY HURT A LITTLE that was a  New York Times Best Seller the first week. 

Busy recently launched her new podcast with Cloud10 called  Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best with co-hosts Caissie St. Onge and Shantira Jackson. The show features conversations between the trio and their guests reflecting on times in their lives when a setback led to better opportunities. 

Busy is currently filming the comedy series Girls5eva opposite Sara Bareilles. Girls5eva will premiere on Peacock and is produced by Tina Fey. The highly anticipated series centers on a one-hit wonder girl group from the ’90s who try for another chance at pop stardom.

Busy has also used her voice as an advocate and activist. In 2019, she joined the Advisory Board of  SeeHer,  testified before Congress on reproductive rights after publicly  discussing her own abortion  and launched the #youknowme campaign on social media.  She is also a member of the Center for Reproductive Rights’ Creative Council.

Erika Savage is SVP Global Music Operations at United Talent Agency (UTA) where she plays a key role in strategic planning and business development for the agency’s music division. Honored in 2022 as one of Billboard Women In Music’s Top Executives, she brings over 20 years of music business experience to UTA. Erika previously led strategic development at Interscope Records and negotiated some of the industry’s most successful record deals with superstar artists such as Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish. Erika earned her BA in Gender Studies and Political Science from the University of Toronto and her JD from Osgoode Hall Law School. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.