CUTTER CONNECTIONS
Professional. Female. United. Forward.
Cutter Connections is a mentorship program designed to unite professional women from all career stages of the advertising, entertainment, and digital media industries. At our events, young women entering the field are able to sharpen their network skills and develop relationships with experienced creative professionals.
EVENTS
New event coming in December 2026.
Stay tuned!
December 2025
Soapbox Women NYC networking event
Cutter Connections partnered with Soapbox Women NYC to host an intimate networking mixer on December 4th.
The goal of this special evening, which closes out Cutter Connections' 10th-year anniversary, is to introduce our Cutter Connections family to Soap Box Women NYC, their newly launched, vibrant brand of Soapbox, an independent LA-based organization committed to empowering and promoting women and gender non-conforming people in the entertainment, creative advertising, and marketing industries. We’re inspired by their mission and thrilled to collaborate as they continue growing their new NYC chapter, which was launched a year ago. We believe the more female empowerment, the better!
Thank you to our 14 Cutter Connections industry veterans who continue to inspire and empower the next generation of female creators and congrats to the 8 mentees we chose to attend this special evening!
We also want to thank our partners, Soapbox Women NYC and duotone audio for helping us put together such an inspiring event.
June 2025
Embracing Growth and Longevity in Entertainment and Media




Embracing Growth and Longevity in Entertainment and Media brought together over 90 women working across film, television, and media for an unforgettable evening of inspiration, mentorship, and celebration. With our community now over 1,000 women strong, we gathered to honor a decade of connection and the power of women supporting women in production.
From empowering conversations to new collaborations and lots of joy in the room, this milestone event reflected what Cutter is all about: building a more inclusive, supportive, and sustainable future in entertainment—one relationship at a time.
December 2023
Crossing Boundaries and Mixing Mediums




At the event, “Crossing Boundaries and Mixing Mediums,” hosted at Nice Shoes, our panel of industry experts talked about navigating the ever-changing landscape of the entertainment industry and spilled some special tips for our mentees about how to make the most of their network and skillset as they enter the industry.
A final HUGE shout out to our sponsors: Nice Shoes, William Chris Vineyards and My First Job in Film.
OUR MENTORS

Barbie Leung
Cinematographer
梁麗君 Barbie Leung is a New York based cinematographer working in features, commercials, and music videos. Narrative features include Tubi Originals "Hidden Exposure" (Dir. Todd Bogin), "Kids Like Me" (Dir. Cynthia Lowen and Jon Cohrs), and an upcoming ensemble comedy for FOX Entertainment, directed by Christine Luby.

Rozz Therrien
Executive Producer
Rozz Therrien is a Brooklyn based film, television, podcast, and commercial producer. She has consulted on development projects for Academy Award - nominated and BAFTA winning producers and writers. She has managed production on TV shows for Disney+ and Oxygen and produced commercials for Planned Parenthood, HULU, ABC, and Amazon.

Jessica Sherif
Writer | Director | Producer
Jessica Sherif is a writer, director and producer whose work has been featured on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, A&E, E! and Starz. Her work centers on identity, purpose, and belonging, often through the lens of comedy or romance. Jessica is deeply committed to mentorship and creative community building.

Ayana Baraka
Cinematographer
Ayana Baraka was the Director of Photography for the 3x Emmy-nominated ESPN and Religion of Sports docuseries "In the Arena: Serena Williams" and the Paramount+ documentary "Uncharted" about Alicia Keys’ “She Is The Music” Camp which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

Maple Shipp
Director | Creative Director
Maple is a director and award-winning film creative with over a decade years of experience in creative direction, production, and post-production. She specializes in directing emotional storytelling and family content, and leads teams for both live action and animated productions.

Sydney Ferleger
Music Supervisor and Executive Producer
Sydney Ferleger is a seasoned music industry leader and executive producer, currently working as Music Supervisor and Executive Producer at duotone audio group. With over a decade of experience, she is known for seamlessly blending creative vision with strategic sync licensing, leading projects across advertising, branded content, and film. Her expertise spans original composition, artist collaborations, music supervision, and full-scale audio post.

Liza Wyles
Writer | Creative Producer
Liza Wyles is a writer, producer, and intimacy coordinator, spanning live action, animation, documentary, and editorial content for all platforms. She has executive produced TV series for Marvel and Discovery, including "Marvel's Hero Project" on Disney+ and "In Deep Shift" on OWN.

Sydney Muench
Associate Producer | Content Creator
Sydney Muench is a Multidisciplinary Creative, Production Assistant, and Photographer based in NJ/NYC. She’s passionate about visual storytelling and currently works at Cutter Entertainment as a Social Media Coordinator and Production Assistant, and at The High Lantern Group as a Communications Strategy Consultant. Her creative work spans commercial shoots, editorial photography, and digital storytelling.

Jess Peterson
CEO | Creative Producer, Mighty Oak
Jess Peterson is an Emmy-nominated creative leader specializing in video, music, and hand-crafted animation. As Executive Producer at Shopify, she leads global video initiatives for their Growth and Revenue departments, driving high-performance campaigns for one of the world’s leading commerce platforms.

Rebecca Eskreis
Director | Producer | Writer
Rebecca Eskreis is a writer, director and producer whose work has screened at major film festivals around the world. Credits as director include WHAT BREAKS THE ICE, starring Madelyn Cline, Sofia Hublitz and Lukas Gage, and CLEARMIND, starring Rebecca Creskoff, Rob Benedict, and Kadeem Hardison, released in 2024.

Soon Kwon
Sr. Producer | Director of Design Operations | Events Specialist
From humble beginnings as a wide-eyed Production Assistant to an award-winning Senior Writer/Producer and Director of Design Operations, Soon has spent 20 years at the heart of creative marketing and post-production for networks like Showtime and Paramount+.

Vanessa Hudson
Director | Creative Producer
Vanessa Hudson is a New York-based freelance director, producer, and showrunner with a decade of experience leading documentary and branded projects across the globe. She has directed and produced content in over 20 countries, creating films and series that spark empathy and encourage audiences to dream bigger for their own lives.















































