Trista Schroeder Named Interim Director of Industry Sex Harassment Commission
June 5, 2018
Trista Schroeder Named Interim Director of Industry Sex Harassment Commission
Entertainment attorney Trista Schroeder has been named interim executive director of the Anita Hill-led Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace. Schroeder worked for disgraced talk-show host Charlie Rose before starting her legal career in 2003 but declined to answer questions about him.
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“I am proud to be helping move the important work of the Commission forward as the interim executive director,” she said in a statement to Deadline. “Since launching, we have been working with the Commissioners, as well as the assigned delegates from across film, television, music, digital, unions, agencies, ATA, AMPAS, television academy and guilds that comprise the Commission, to build the Commission’s infrastructure, establish a blueprint for our work, and outline the Commission’s areas of focus. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this long overdue effort to eliminate sexual harassment and systemic inequality across the Entertainment Industry.”
Schroeder, formerly chief administrator of the Wasserman Media Group, was named to the post in March, but her appointment hadn’t been made public until now. Her appointment was made by the Commission Council, which includes Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Nike Foundation founder and co-chair Maria Eitel, Del Shaw law firm partner Nina Shaw, venture capitalist Freada Kapor Klein and Commission chair Hill.
Kennedy helped launch the Commission in October in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal with a call for the industry to create a commission to end the industry’s decades-old culture of sexual abuse and harassment.
“We are grateful for Trista’s counsel and creative thinking as interim executive director of the Commission,” the Commission said in a statement. “Her work has been integral as we take steps necessary to create a safe working environmentbyprotecting victims of sexual harassment, not harassers, reducing the occurrence of sexual harassment, and providing the framework for cultural change within our industry. This change will happen when we value all people and we create a system thatallows individuals who have been harassed to step forward without fear of reprisal, be heard and to have their concerns fairly resolved. The Commission is committed to these goals and Trista Schroeder has helped provide the knowledge, leadership and industry experience necessary to achieve them.”
Prior to joining the Wasserman Media Group as general counsel in 2007, Schroeder was an associate at the law firm Proskauer Rose in its New York and Los Angeles offices, where she focused on the music industry. Her clients included Tom Petty, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Smashing Pumpkins. Prior to her legal career, she was director of research for Charlie Rose, the late-night talk program on PBS.
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