New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is pleased to announce the results of its 2026 Board of Directors elections. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity, NYWIFT is governed by a board of directors elected by its membership. Board members serve on committees supporting the organization’s development, special events, advocacy, education, and other initiatives.
This year, NYWIFT welcomes Tonya Thomas as a new Board Member, welcomes back Maria (Mary) C. Miles, who previously served on the Board, and announces the re-election of Neyda Martínez Sierra.
New Board Member: Tonya Thomas
Tonya Thomas is Deputy Director of Black Public Media (BPM), where she helps drive organizational strategy, cultivate cross-sector partnerships, advance fundraising and community engagement efforts, and support initiatives that expand opportunities for independent filmmakers and creative technologists. She is also the founder of JoLa Films, Inc., where she launched and leads a TV and media-focused youth work readiness program. In collaboration with the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center and Black Public Media, she curates an annual short film series for the Hamptons Black Film, Art, and Culture Series in Sag Harbor, New York.
Thomas’ career spans television and film, philanthropy, higher education, nonprofit leadership, and public media. Her previous roles include National Director of Programs at the Tourette Association of America, Associate Program Officer at The New York Community Trust’s Long Island office, and Director of Partnership Development and Programming at SUNY College at Old Westbury. Earlier in her career, she worked in television production, including on Rolonda and The Montel Williams Show, and served as Marketing Research Manager at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Her leadership has been recognized by Long Island Business News with its Diversity in Business Award.
A longtime NYWIFT member, Thomas is passionate about expanding opportunities for storytellers, building meaningful partnerships, and connecting creative work with communities. She holds a B.S. from Boston University and an M.S.W. from Fordham University.
Returning Board Member: Maria C. Miles
Maria C. Miles, Esq. is the founder of an entertainment law practice with offices in New York. Her practice focuses on all areas of entertainment and media law, including film, television, music, literary publishing, and digital media. Her clients consist primarily of independent film producers, directors, writers, and talent, as well as award-winning actors, television hosts, recording artists, and corporations in the fashion and sports industries.
Prior to establishing her own practice, Miles served as general counsel for a multi-media digital startup, where her work included corporate and financing transactions, technology development and licensing, employment and intellectual property matters, and webseries and editorial content. Earlier in her career, she was counsel at a large law firm, representing clients across the entertainment and intellectual property industries.
Miles previously served as Secretary of the Board of New York Women in Film & Television and returns to the organization’s Board of Directors. She is also President of the Board of the Hellenic Film Society USA and an Adjunct Professor at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, the School of Visual Arts, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she teaches entertainment law to filmmakers.
Miles is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, and the United States Supreme Court.
Re-elected Board Member: Neyda Martínez Sierra
Neyda Martínez Sierra is a three-time Sundance Institute fellow, educator, filmmaker, producer, curator, and cultural leader whose work explores the intersection of arts, media, social justice, and cultural equity. She was named a Sundance x Adobe Woman to Watch in 2024 and is a fellow of the Sundance Documentary Producing Program, the Mellon Initiative for Inclusive Faculty Excellence, and the Heilbroner Capitalism Fellowship at The New School for Social Research.
As a producer and creative collaborator, Martínez Sierra’s credits include Decade of Fire and Lucky. She is currently producing The People v. Austerity, Bartolo, and an untitled documentary on poet, feminist, and human rights advocate Alaíde Foppa. Her work uses storytelling and creative practice as tools for civic engagement, historical memory, and creative resistance.
Martínez Sierra is also the guest curator of Laberinto: Conciencia Espiritual, a landmark solo exhibition by Diógenes Ballester Rodríguez at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. She is Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Media Management in the Systems and Social Futures department at Parsons School of Design, The New School, and holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tonya and Mary to the NYWIFT Board and to continue working with Neyda as she begins another term,” said NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez. “Each brings a distinct combination of creative expertise, leadership experience, and commitment to the people who make our industry possible. Their perspectives will strengthen our work as NYWIFT continues to connect our members with opportunities, community, education, and advocacy at a time of significant change across film, television, and media.”
NYWIFT also extends its gratitude to departing Board Members Sirad Balducci, Christina Kiely, Amenya Makuku, Joyce Pierpoline, and Kuye Youngblood for their service to the organization and its membership.
President Kim Jackson, co-founder of Evotion and a celebrated creative producer, continues to lead the NYWIFT Board of Directors. Her recent producing credits include The Plea, which captured attention on IndieWire through an op-ed written by Jackson and premiered at the 27th Woodstock Film Festival this October.
“Welcome to the new and returning members. It’s a true pleasure to serve alongside such a remarkable board chosen by our members. Every board member brings distinct skills that help NYWIFT’s mission grow and thrive. Their combined skills are what make NYWIFT’s mission not just possible, but practically unstoppable,” said NYWIFT Board President Kim Jackson.
NYWIFT once again participated in the Woodstock Film Festival, co-presenting a panel and networking reception as part of its ongoing partnership with the festival. This year’s panel, “Breaking the Frame: Women in Film,” on Saturday, October 18, at Utopia Studios in Woodstock, New York, featured Rosanna Arquette, Gina Gershon, Rachel Grady, and Debra Granik. NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez moderated the conversation, which explored the changing opportunities for women in film, lessons from filmmakers who have helped shape the industry, and possibilities for the next generation of storytellers.
Learn more about the NYWIFT Board of Directors at nywift.org/about/board-of-directors.
(All images courtesy of the participants)
