Our Team

Sumi Parekh serves as the Executive Director for the Group Effort Initiative. Prior to her role at Group Effort, Sumi worked for Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti and served as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Mayor of Economic Development. In this role, she served as a thought partner for the Deputy Mayor, helped to execute the Mayor’s strategies for economic development, and served as a day-to-day manager for the Office of Economic Development staff. She also created Garcetti’s Evolve Entertainment Fund (Evolve), launched in February 2018 to open up professional pathways into film, television, music, and digital media for over 1,000 participants. In June 2021, Evolve was absorbed by Group Effort. Sumi was also a Program Manager at the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving life for all Angelenos and the Director of Legislative Affairs and Programs at the Los Angeles Business Council (LABC). Appointed by Mayor Garcetti, Sumi currently serves as a Commissioner on the nine person Los Angeles City Police and Fire Pension Board. Sumi also serves as a member of Reimagine L.A. County, a coalition of advocates, community organizations and neighbors continuing to push Measure J investments and a board member for LA Collab, an unprecedented effort to connect Latinx talent, executives, and creators to opportunities in the entertainment industry — and double Latino representation in Hollywood by 2030. Sumi graduated in 2013 from the University of Southern California with a Masters in Public Policy and is a graduate of the University of Texas with a B.S. in Mathematics.  

Natalie Robles serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Programming for the Group Effort Initiative. Prior to her role at Group Effort, Natalie was the Senior Program Manager at the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles, a non-profit organization aligned with the Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles to address the city's most challenging issues and improve life for all Angelenos through innovative public-private partnerships. As a philanthropic liaison and grants manager for the organization's diverse portfolio of over 30 programs, Natalie supported the Evolve Entertainment Fund (Evolve), an initiative of Mayor Eric Garcetti to strengthen career pathways in the entertainment industry for young people from low-income and underrepresented communities. Evolve ultimately merged with Group Effort in June 2021. During the Obama Administration Natalie served as a Loaned Communications Executive with PolicyLink through the IPA Fellowship Program in the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). In HUD's Office of Economic Resilience, Natalie focused on issues of racial equity, fair housing, sustainability, and government-philanthropic partnerships. She has worked in advocacy on federal housing, transportation, and environmental policy in Washington D.C. for Smart Growth America, Transportation for America, and Reconnect America. She has also worked with local governments in roles with the United Nations Human Settlement Program (UN-Habitat), The World Bank, and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity. Natalie holds a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Macalester College in St. Paul. Minnesota.

Melissa Ramirez serves as the Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives & Programming  for the Group Effort Initiative. Melissa realized she wanted to pursue a career within the entertainment industry as a sixteen-year-old growing up in East Hollywood. In 2018, Melissa joined Mayor Garcetti’s Evolve Entertainment Fund (Evolve), a workforce development program that provided career pathways into entertainment careers for low-income and underrepresented Angelenos. Through Evolve, Melissa secured internships at Outfest, Live Nation Entertainment, and NBCUniversal in their Corporate Relations, Diversity & Belonging, and Campus Recruitment & Initiatives departments. In college, she discovered her passion for helping aspiring professionals with securing entertainment career opportunities. In her final college semester, Melissa accepted an offer to join NBCUniversal’s Campus Recruitment team as an Assistant. Melissa recruited interns in the L.A. region for NBCEntertainment and Owned Stations & Affiliates divisions. In 2020, Melissa worked for Mayor Garcetti’s Office of Economic Development as the Evolve Entertainment Fund Coordinator supporting fellow Evolve peers with securing internships and entry-level positions. Now, Melissa is excited to continue paying it forward and support upcoming storytellers, executives, and professionals at Group Effort Initiative. Melissa graduated in 2019 from California State University, Northridge with a B.S. in Business Management and a B.A. in Economics. Melissa is also a cat lover and volunteers at the SNPLA Kitten Nursery in her spare time. Melissa is a proud owner of two short-hair tabby cats.

Claudia Juarez serves as the Program Coordinator for the Group Effort Initiative. She is an alumni of the Evolve Entertainment Fund, having joined the program as a freshman in college and landing internships at companies such as Hungry Man Production, Academy Gold, Fulwell 73 Productions, Hello Sunshine, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and 44 Blue Productions. Following graduation, Claudia assisted the unscripted development team at 44 Blue Productions as an executive assistant before joining the Group Effort team. Claudia holds a B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts from California State University, Fullerton. She has a passion for photography, meaningful representation in media, and murder mystery films.

Em Pennington serves as a Program Coordinator for the Group Effort Initiative. She graduated from Columbia College Hollywood with a Bachelor's degree in Film and Television. She started out working as a production assistant on multiple student films and with Brian Graden Media, as well as interning for Pantheon Entertainment before becoming a Group Effort participant her junior year. Em is enthusiastic about helping to change the entertainment industry by uplifting unique and underrepresented groups. She has a lifelong affinity for random adventures, nature, film, and writing bad poems.

Arthur Fishel serves as the High Road Training Program (HRTP) Manager for the Group Effort Initiative. Originally hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Arthur is a seasoned entertainment professional with over 15 years of experience both on set and producing. He has expanded his palette by creating content for education, direct response advertising, publicity, scripted, unscripted, and social media marketing. From studio backlots to classrooms, the wheels are always turning with this dot connector, who serves as an advisor and consultant on different charitable and workforce initiatives, playing a key role in strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as I.A.T.S.E. and studios alike.

Emily Azzaria (she/they) serves as a Program Coordinator for the Group Effort Initiative. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community, she is deeply committed to challenging systemic barriers and empowering marginalized groups in the entertainment industry, a passion that inspired her to join Group Effort as a participant. Emily graduated from the California State University, Long Beach, with a B.A. in Narrative Production and Electronic Arts and a track in Cinematography. In their free time, they enjoy watching movies, being a part of a book club, and playing with their cat, Betty.