IDA Hires Two Senior Staffers, Consultant As It Attempts To Move Forward From Staff Revolt

deadline.com:

The IDA has announced the hiring of two senior staff members and a consultant, in what the embattled organization calls “a major step forward.”Arts administrator and film festival programmer Keisha Knight has been appointed director of IDA Funds and Enterprise Program, a critical role that involves interfacing with grant-making entities that fund IDA initiatives.“In this capacity [Knight] will oversee a portfolio of IDA’s granting programs,” the IDA said in a release, “including IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund, Logan elevate and Equity grants, and the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, XRM Media Incubator, and Netflix Global Emerging Filmmaker Award.”Abby Sun, a filmmaker, researcher, and artist at the MIT Open Documentary Lab, has been hired as the IDA’s director of artist programs.

One of her major responsibilities will be to develop thematic content for the IDA’s Getting Real 2022 conference, which is scheduled for September.Louise Rosen, a veteran producer, sales agent, distributor and former executive and artistic director of the Maine Jewish Film Festival, has come on board as a senior consultant to the IDA, effective this week.“Louise’s perspective, expertise, and nonprofit management experience,” noted IDA executive director Rick Pérez, “will help us facilitate the IDA’s fulfillment of its immediate obligations to the documentary community and going forward, clarify the role we can play in advocating on its behalf.”Sun and Knight start their new positions on Monday.“This is a critical time of transition for IDA as we assess where we’ve been for the last four decades and how we want to evolve moving forward,” said the IDA’s newly-elected board co-chairs Chris Pérez and Grace Lee. “We are excited to welcome our newest