The Writers Guild Foundation hosts a virtual Character Creation Lab in partnership with Imaginable Futures focused on developing compelling character backstories and storylines through the lens of pursuing education and better career paths to support their families.
Learn how narratives that depict social issues around higher education, early childhood education, childcare and caregiving, systemic racism, and access to upward mobility provide relatable stories to audiences and how to craft authentic characters with a toolbox of informed research and resources that represent the challenges of the work-family balance.
Panelists include:
Michelle Denise Jackson - Maid
Madeline Hendricks Lewen – Jane The Virgin
Moderated by Jenn Clark, Imaginable Futures Strategic Communications Lead.
Panel starts at 6PM PT.
RSVP for free or with a suggested donation of $10. All proceeds benefit the Writers Guild Foundation’s future panels and events, community programs, and Library & Archive. After signing up, you’ll receive information on how to access the Zoom panel.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to us at events@wgfoundation.org.
In Partnership With
About the Panelists
Michelle Denise Jackson is a WGA Award-winning writer. She received her MFA in Writing for Screen & Television from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Since 2019, she has written on some of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows of the Peak TV boom: GENERATION (HBO Max), PIECES OF HER (Netflix), critically acclaimed limited series MAID (Netflix), NAACP-award winning drama series QUEEN SUGAR (OWN), and Apple TV’s flagship drama THE MORNING SHOW. Michelle has also developed TV projects with Anonymous Content, Bad Robot, BuzzFeed Studios, Warner Bros., Universal, Netflix, and HBO. Since 2020, she has served as adjunct faculty in USC’s John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television.
Madeline Hendricks Lewen is a TV writer and playwright. She currently serves as a Producer on SYFY's "The Ark." Other TV credits include Freeform’s "Good Trouble" and the CW's "Jane The Virgin," where she worked for all five seasons. Her plays have been published by Samuel French and produced in NY and LA.
About the Moderator
Jenn Clark is the strategic communications lead for the US team at Imaginable Futures, a global philanthropic investment firm focused on learning and education. She has more than 15 years of experience helping the public better understand complex topics, such as equity in higher education, child care and early learning, and the status of women in the United States.
Prior to joining Imaginable Futures, she was an independent communications consultant, providing communications planning and content development support to many of the leading organizations working to drive change for families. She was previously the Director of Communications at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), where she worked with the Institute’s Student Parent Success Initiative team to guide messaging on its trailblazing research, shape public conversation and engage partners in addressing the needs of the one in five college students raising children. She also led its state-based strategic communications efforts on women’s employment and access to paid leave and child care, where she regularly provided strategic communications advice and media relations support to local and national partners around the country.