CAPE unveils the executives selected for their fourth annual CAPE Leaders Fellowship, an industry-leading accelerator for rising junior media executives designed to propel them to the senior ranks.
The fellowship is modeled after the CAPE New Writers Fellowship and fosters the next generation of creative executives with the skills and professional network to break into the VP ranks and beyond. The program helps pave the path for executives of the AAPI community to take senior, decision-making positions that will help bolster change in the film and TV industry. Throughout August and September, the selected Fellows will participate in masterclasses, workshops, roundtables, and one-on-one mentoring sessions with high-level industry executives.
Our 2020 CAPE Class includes:
CAROLINE Y. MAK | Manager, Netflix
Caroline Y. Mak is a creative executive at Netflix. As part of the Original Family Films team, within the independent film division, she has served as exec on TALL GIRL, FEEL THE BEAT, and A BABYSITTER’S GUIDE TO MONSTER HUNTING. Prior to Netflix, Mak was a Multiplatform executive at Disney Channel overseeing projects that included the Raven’s Home’s “Legendary” music video, and DuckTales “Summer Secrets Unlocked with Webby.” Mak was also part of the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) team as a junior executive on the body-switching comedy The Swap. In addition, Mak worked at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, NBCUniversal’s mun2, and was part of Disney Channel’s Writer’s Lab. She is a graduate of USC’s Writing for Screen and Television program.
DUANE LUU | Manager of Development, UCP
Duane is a Manager of Development at UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. In his current role, he’s part of the team responsible for such upcoming projects as the reimagination of the cult series “Battlestar Galactica” for Peacock and the TV series adaption of the hit film franchise “Chucky” for SYFY and USA Network. Since joining UCP in 2019, his other projects have included USA Network’s “Briarpatch” from Andy Greenwald and starring Rosario Dawson. Prior to his current role, he served as the executive assistant for the President of Scripted Content at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment and President of Unscripted Content at USA Network and SYFY. Duane graduated from UCLA with a degree in economics.
JANE LEE | Manager, Original Series, Animated, Netflix
Jane Lee is a manager of original animated series at Netflix, where she develops and produces animated series for kids and families around the world. Jane and her team have developed critically acclaimed and audience adored animated series like The Dragon Prince, Last Kids on Earth, and Carmen Sandiego among many others. She’s currently working on an interactive series Battle Kitty, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling and embracing an innovative interactive format. She’s also working on upcoming hybrid documentary and animated kids series from first-time showrunner Elizabeth Ito with City of Ghosts Prior to joining Netflix, Jane served as a producer at Emmy Award winning Sesame Workshop, overseeing home video and outreach projects, including Elmo’s Alphabet Challenge and Little Children, Big Challenges.
MAYA KAMBE | Director of Development, Paramount Animation
Maya Kambe is the Director of Development at Paramount Animation where she oversees the development and production of feature animated projects for Paramount’s growing Animation slate. Maya got her start in animation working in production at DreamWorks Animation where she later moved over to the development side while working under Mireille Soria. Maya was born in Tokyo and raised in Los Angeles. She received her BA in Art History from Skidmore College.
MOHAN MANDALI | Junior Executive, Fabrik Entertainment
Mohan Mandali is Junior Executive with Fabrik Entertainment where he has worked on the shows Bosch and Interrogation, while also supporting the expanding development slate with a focus on diverse voices and stories. Prior to Fabrik, Mohan worked at HBO in Drama Development and got his start in the industry working at ICM Partners. Mohan is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison where he majored in Political Science and Rhetorical Communications.
NAYANTARA ROY | Development Executive, Endeavor Content
Nayantara Roy is a Development Executive at Endeavor Content, where she sources, acquires and develops compelling stories, in fiction and non fiction. Prior to Endeavor, she was a Manager of Production and Development at AGBO Films, developing film and TV for buyers including Netflix, Showtime, FX, QuiBi and Apple. Her love of IP and diverse, universal storytelling is born from an unsupervised, longterm love affair with her family’s exhaustive bookshelves. She is a playwright, whose work has been published and produced in Mumbai, Manchester and London. She has a graduate degree in film and TV from Columbia University. Originally from India, she lives in Los Angeles with way too many houseplants.
NICK HSIEH | Film Development Coordinator, Get Lifted Film Co.
Nicholas Hsieh is currently the Film Development Coordinator at Get Lifted Film Co., where he works on sourcing and developing content for their growing film slate. Prior to joining Get Lifted, Nick worked at WME as an assistant to the Executive Chairman and EVP of Analytics. While at WME, Nick organized programming for the company's first AAPI Heritage Month. Originally from New York, Nick is a graduate of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
NIKITHA MENON | Director of Development, Ladies’ Car Productions
Nikitha Menon is the Director of Development for Emmy-nominated and Golden-Globe winning director Nisha Ganatra at Ladies’ Car Productions, currently under an overall deal at ABC TV Studios. Prior to Ladies’ Car, Nikki worked in development at AMC Networks and began her career assisting veteran TV Lit agent Laura Gordon. Nikki specializes in championing diverse voices, adapting IP, and shepherding international stories through the American marketplace. Last year, she was selected to the inaugural class of the Who’s In The Room program, sponsored by Time’s Up to support and mentor diverse producers and executives. In her spare time, Nikki is a contributor for Brown Girl Magazine and is also co-Founder and co-Host of The Chaat Room, a podcast for South Asians interested in entertainment careers to learn about the industry. When she has downtime, Nikki watches way too much Bollywood and probably has an unhealthy obsession with The Bachelor universe.
TAYLOR TANG | Scripted Creative Executive, Quibi
A SoCal native and a proud UCLA Bruin, Taylor is a scripted content executive at Jeffrey Katzenberg’s exciting new company, Quibi, where she has been for almost two years. Prior to Quibi, she worked in film at Brad Weston and Pam Abdy’s company, Makeready. She made her start in the industry working at the Gersh Agency for two of the best agents in town, Bayard Maybank and Bob Hohman. When she’s not working or quarantining, you can find her reading at the beach under an umbrella, trying new restaurants/foods, catching up on classic movies (or Jeopardy), or acting as momager to her little dog, Finn.
VASCO XU | Creative Executive, Worldwide Production, Legendary Pictures
Vasco Xu started his career at Paramount Pictures in casting where he participated in tentpoles like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION and TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE: OUT OF THE SHADOWS. He later joined Legendary Entertainment, where he was an intern and an assistant before being promoted to a Creative Executive. With his knowledgeable insights into the booming Chinese market, Vasco worked on films like PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING, SKYSCRAPER starring Dwayne Johnson, POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU starring Ryan Reynolds and GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS. As both a production executive and an associate producer, Vasco just wrapped production on Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi book, DUNE. He is also developing THE LOST ADVENTURE OF CONSTANCE VERITY starring Awkwafina, and Sunrise’s iconic mecha series GUNDAM.