All Attendees Welcome
The Power of Diverse Jewish Stories on Screen to Combat Antisemitism
Featuring Deborah Camiel, Ben Cosgrove, Ginnifer Goodwin, Nina Tassler
Speakers
Ben Cosgrove
Founder and CEO of Leviathan Productions
BEN COSGROVE is a Founder and CEO of Leviathan Productions, a film and television production company dedicated to telling Jewish stories, and stories about Israel.
Previously he was President of 2929 Productions. Among the projects he produced at 2929 were Serena (Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence), Deadfall (Eric Bana & Olivia Wilde), Please Stand By (Dakota Fanning), and Permanent (Rainn Wilson & Patricia Arquette).
Before 2929, Cosgrove was Senior Vice-President of Production at Paramount Pictures. Among the projects he developed and/or supervised at Paramount were Dreamgirls (Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy & Jennifer Hudson), The Fighter (Christian Bale & Mark Wahlberg) and Interstellar (Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway & Jessica Chastain).
Before Paramount, Cosgrove was President of George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh’s production company Section Eight. Among the projects he produced at Section Eight were The Good German
(George Clooney, Cate Blanchett & Tobey Maguire) and Rumor Has It (Jennifer Aniston, Mark Ruffalo & Kevin Costner). At Section Eight Cosgrove executive produced Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney, David Strathairn & Robert Downey, Jr.), Syriana (George Clooney, Matt Damon & Jeffrey Wright), A Scanner Darkly (Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder & Robert Downey, Jr.), Insomnia (Al Pacino, Robin Williams & Hillary Swank) and Welcome to Collinwood (William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell & Patricia Clarkson).
Cosgrove graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in English Literature.
Ginnifer Goodwin
Actress
Ginnifer Goodwin is an actress, best known for her roles in the television series BIG LOVE (HBO,) ONCE UPON A TIME (Disney+,) and WHY WOMEN KILL (PARAMOUNT+.) Her film credits include MONA LISA SMILE, WALK THE LINE, A SINGLE MAN, HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, SOMETHING BORROWED, and ZOOTOPIA.
Nina Tassler
Producer, Author, and Media & Entertainment Executive
Nina Tassler is a Producer, Author, and Media & Entertainment Executive, Formerly Chair of CBS Entertainment. Serving as President since 2004, she led CBS Entertainment to great heights, propelling it to be named America’s #1 Network during 12 of the 13 years of her tenure. She developed such hit series as “The Big Bang Theory,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” the “NCIS” franchise, “The Good Wife,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and the award-winning daytime talk show, “The Talk.” Nina also assembled a senior staff that was 50% female and helped establish CBS Entertainment’s first Diversity, Inclusion, and Communications department.
Nina delivered the 2016 commencement speech at her alma mater, Boston University. She has received the Award for Creative Achievement by The Imagen Foundation, The Lucy Award for Excellence in Television by Women in Film, The Champion of Choice Award by Planned Parenthood, and the National Champion of Children Award from the Alliance of Children’s Rights. Nina was Chair and Honoree of the Jewish Federation, Entertainment Division, as well as, recipient of Jewish Family Service, LA’s Susie Forer-Dehrey Spirit of Humanity Award. In 2010, she co-led with Nancy Josephson, the first Women in Entertainment mission to Israel.
In 2016, Simon & Schuster published her book, WHAT I TOLD MY DAUGHTER, a collection of inspiring reflections from notable, highly accomplished women in politics, academia, athletics, the arts, and business. In 2023, Nina produced the Broadway show, THE COTTAGE starring Eric McCormack, directed by Jason Alexander. Nina serves on the Boston University Board of Trustees, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and on the Board of Jewish Family Service, LA having served as Chair from 2019-2022. She lives in LA with husband Jerry Levine, daughter, son, and daughter in law.
Moderator
Deborah Camiel
Director, Media & Entertainment Institute (MEI), ADL
Deborah Camiel is the inaugural Director of the ADL Media & Entertainment Institute (MEI). She will lead the MEI’s engagement with the entertainment, media and related industries to increase understanding of antisemitism, combat bias, promote balanced, accurate press coverage of Jewish people and Israel and support more diverse representations of Jews on screen.
Deborah spent six years at CBS News — first leading the network’s editorial team in Tel Aviv, Israel and then at CBS Evening News in New York City — and seven years at Reuters international news agency’s Jerusalem bureau. She then spent ten years producing prime-time shows in the documentary unit at CNBC. Deborah also built a full-service communications department at 50+1 Strategies, a political consulting firm, and served as Director of Communications at the Birthright Israel Foundation.
Deborah graduated with a BA in English and two MAs in English and Jewish History from Stanford University. She is a Fulbright Scholar, a Hoover Institution Media Fellow and a Stanford Humanities Fellow. She is a member of the Overseas Press Club and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.