Wendy is a roller-coaster fanatic, mother of two, as well as a Producer and actress and with a passion for stories by and about women. Wendy has become increasingly aware of the low statistics of women working in the Entertainment Industry. Her philanthropic eye and a heart for social change have fueled her to spearhead the iWe Summit in an effort to become part of the solution to the gender imbalance in the Industry. .
Wendy Haines
Irene Park
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Irene Park has always made performing part of her daily life ever since her first stint as the Virgin Mary in a production of the Nativity. Often overheard asking, “Are you going to eat that?” she also has a voracious appetite for authenticity and equality. She happily studies and holds the position of TA at her acting home, Warner Loughlin Studios, where she has learned to cultivate a sense of inclusiveness for both genders pursuing excellence in the industry. A proponent of leading by example, she wrote, produced, and will act in her own webseries about sexy intelligent females having it all. iWe is a culmination of her pursuit in making the industry work for everyone.
Dawn "Sam" Alden
Dawn embraced at an early age the maxim of the 2nd wave feminists “if you can’t find it, found it.” She is a classically-trained stage actress who co-founded her own Shakespeare company at grad school when the administration wouldn’t give roles to students. She co-founded a commedia troupe when she didn’t see enough physical comedy roles for women. She founded an all-female stage combat theatre company when she saw a lack of fighting roles for women in the stage canon. She has joined feminist activist groups, feminist reading groups, and founded a feminist writing group. She is thrilled to have found iWe and to be working with such an amazing team of women.
Sienna Beckman
Sienna Beckman works as a producer and production manager, and is a co-founder of the production company Emergence Films. She is interested in preserving the endlessly versatile medium of film for the purpose of telling stories. Working alongside the organization Women Helping Women in Entertainment and now part of the leadership team for the iWe Summit, Sienna aims to level the playing field for women working in the entertainment industry and create an industry that works for everyone equally. With more female perspectives influencing key creative and production roles, more authentic characters tell more meaningful stories that audiences can relate to and understand. Sienna is committed to bringing more of these stories to life.
Nikki Deloach
Actress, writer, producer, teacher, creative executive, with a layover in the music business in the early 2000s (Please do not google. You will only be met by an intense perm and a girl who really loved glitter). After 25 years in this business, her passion and love for this industry and all things creative has only grown. As women, we wake up everyday trying to be the best versions of ourselves. Why not create that in the world in which we work? The iWe Summit seeks to do just that, and she is honored to be a member of this team.
Jen Dede
Actress, writer, producer, teacher – a modern day triple threat! Jen quickly learned as an actor you can’t sit around waiting for the phone to ring, you must create. With a passion for female driven stories and a fire in her belly the iWe Summit immediately spoke to her. She is thrilled to be a part of this incredible group of women starting a fresh, forward-thinking, conversation about gender balance in all areas of our industry.
Elena Evangelo
Born and bred in NYC, Elena is an actor, writer, filmmaker and teacher. She also claims to have done all of her own stunt work in the first G.I. Joe movie. A graduate of Vassar College with a B.A. in English and French, she went on to earn her M.F.A. in Filmmaking from USC, School of Cinematic Arts, graduating Phi Kappa Phi. Her education continued in Paris studying French Theater with Tisch School of the Arts. She is a recipient of the Jeffery Jones Screenwriting Scholarship and the Ray Stark/Ted Turner MGM Award.
Elena is grateful to be a member of the powerhouse collective of iWe, working to propel lasting change in the film industry.