HamptonsFilm proudly welcomed six new Board Members this year! We thank them for their commitment, and look forward to their fresh insights and contributions in the years ahead.
Eric Gioia
Eric is a Managing Director of Wealth Management at UBS, having also most recently served as a Managing Director and Senior Banker at J.P. Morgan Chase. At UBS, Eric advises CEOs, founders, and ultra-high net worth families and organizations in New York, regarding strategic advice, investments, banking, risk management, and succession planning strategies.
Before becoming an important member of the NYC business community, Eric was elected to serve in the New York City Council, representing Queens from 2002-2009. As a Councilman, he chaired the Committee on Oversight & Investigations, conducting more than 50 inquiries that helped the passage of important laws and increasing government accountability. Prior to his service as a Councilman, Eric served in the White House as a law clerk to the Deputy White House Counsel and practiced law at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
Apart from UBS, Eric is an adjunct professor at the NYU College of Arts & Sciences and CUNY’s Macauley Honors College. For ten years, he has taught seminars on public policy and the future of New York. He previously served on the boards of MoMA PSI, the Museum of the Moving Image, and Chess in the Schools. Now, he serves as a trustee of the Marymount School of NY and on the board of the Queens Library Foundation.
Eric is a graduate of NYU and Georgetown University Law Center. He lives with his wife Lisa Hernandez Gioia and their four children in New York City. Eric is an avid marathoner and has embarked on a quest to run a marathon on all seven continents.
Peter Hedges
Peter Hedges’ first novel WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE was the basis for the 1993 film, which he also wrote. Hedges’ screenplays include co-adapting Jane Hamilton’s A MAP OF THE WORLD and Nick Hornby’s ABOUT A BOY, for which he received a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar® nomination.
Hedges made his feature film directorial debut with PIECES OF APRIL, starring Katie Holmes and Patricia Clarkson. In 2007, Peter directed and co-wrote DAN IN REAL LIFE for Touchstone Pictures / Focus Features. In 2012, Peter wrote and directed THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN for Disney. In 2018, Hedges wrote and directed BEN IS BACK, which starred Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges. Hedges’ most recent film THE SAME STORM featured a cast of 24 that includes Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Noma Dumezweni, Moses Ingram, and Elaine May.
Hedges has taught at Yale University, Bennington College, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has served as a Creative Advisor at the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab and as a Mentor at the HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab.
Karen C. Phillips
Karen C. Phillips has an extensive background in the non-profit community through her career and voluntary contributions. She has worked at universities in Virginia and New York and managed the Instructor of Trainers Program at the national headquarters of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Karen serves on the board of the Phillips Charitable Organization (“PCO”) and is one of its founding members. PCO is a non-profit organization that provides timely financial aid for single parents, disadvantaged engineering students and wounded veterans.
She is one of the Principals of Blounts and Moore, a black owned and operated strategic investor in cannabis ventures in multiple states.
Most recently, she served on boards of the American Ballet Theater (“ABT”), FIT Couture Council, and was involved in Habitat for Humanity both domestically and internationally. Additionally, she was a founding member of Black Economic Alliance.
Previously, Karen has served on the boards of the following organizations: Loyola School (New York City), The Browning School (New York City), Schools of the Sacred Heart (San Francisco), Counseling in Schools (New York City) and SFJazz (San Francisco).
Karen received her BA in Sociology from Grinnell College, Iowa, and her MS in Counseling and Development from Long Island University, New York.
James (Jimmy) Rosenfeld
James (Jimmy) Rosenfeld was Co-president and CEO of Fishman and Tobin, a multi-generational family apparel business founded in 1914, which was eventually acquired by the larger Li and Fung. Jimmy prides himself on having started in the shipping department to gain a more well-rounded understanding of the business, as well as on being able to work with his partner, best friend and diverse stakeholders across the world.
He was born in Philadelphia and is a graduate of Hofstra University. Jimmy has served as president of the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund, the oldest fashion-oriented education nonprofit, which provides scholarships, mentoring, and internship opportunities to students seeking careers in the fashion industry.
Jimmy has also been a trustee of the Park Avenue Synagogue, where he has also been honored. He has had the good fortune to be involved in UJA and Tulane University. Since his retirement a few years ago, Jimmy has started a monthly book club and enjoys golf and adventure trips. He lives in New York City with his wife, Sheri, and relishes spending time with his two daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren. He has been a long-time film aficionado and especially loves westerns and classic Hollywood cinema.
Kara Ross
Kara Ross is an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and an award-winning jewelry designer whose work is recognized by the White House. Her pieces were commissioned by the Obama White House, and have been displayed in art museums across the country. Kara is a certified gemologist and member of Women Moving Millions and the Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy. She has sat on the boards of the CFDA and Georgetown University. Kara Ross has sold to top international retailers over the years, including Harrods, Selfridges, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus, to name a few.
For the past few years Kara has been investing in primarily female-founded companies and has approximately 20 investments to date. She has recently launched a VC dinner series, AN EVENING WITH, which brings together like minded founders and funders
Kara has purchased the rights of three nonfiction books and is currently working to translate them to the screen. A fourth production is in the works and tells the true story of two of fashion’s most iconic female designers
Regina K. Scully
Regina K. Scully is the Founder and CEO of Artemis Rising Foundation, dedicated to media, education and the arts that transform our culture. A social entrepreneur, media activist, and filmmaker, she has produced over 200 documentary films focused on some of the most pressing social justice issues of our time.
Ms. Scully is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning and Academy-nominated producer, whose notable films include WHAT WOULD SOPHIA LOREN DO?, FANTASTIC FUNGI, FED UP, and WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? Ms. Scully is also the Founding Sponsor of the Athena Film Festival (NYC).
