Dan Lin’s Rideback Rise Accelerator Appoints Tracey Bing As Head Of Content, Sabrina Pourmand As Founding Executive Director
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The nonprofit BIPOC accelerator Rideback Rise, launched last July by Dan Lin’s production company Rideback (The Lego Movie, It franchises) has today named film producer Tracey Bing as its Head of Content, appointing former charity: water exec Sabrina Pourmand as its Founding Executive Director, and adding Panda Express’ Chief Brand Officer, Andrea Cherng, to its Board of Directors.
These developments come as Rideback Rise looks to further its mission of advancing racial equity through the development of market-ready mainstream film, television, digital and audio entertainment. Also helping it along in that respect is a newly announced $2M donation from the Murphy Family Fund, run by internet entrepreneur and Snap co-founder and CTO Bobby Murphy and his wife Kelsey Murphy, along with a donation from Comcast NBCUniversal. These funds bring the total raised by Rise to more than $3M.
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As Head of Content, Bing will oversee all content operations for Rise, with a focus on the Rise Fellowship, the annual cohort of financially supported BIPOC filmmakers, writers and creative entrepreneurs that makes up the core of the Rise initiative. She will be responsible for the selection of Fellows — five in the first cohort, with a plan to expand in subsequent years — as well as managing the development of Fellows’ projects and guiding those works to market. Bing will additionally oversee all curricula, programming and networking events for Fellows, while managing the Rise Circle, a growing community of diverse creators who are invited to take part in Rise programming and networking events aimed at career growth.
In her new role as Rise’s Founding Executive Director, Pourmand will lead all development, fundraising and partnerships for the accelerator, helping it to meet its long-term goal of becoming a self-sustaining non-profit whose ongoing earnings will be channeled into supporting future cohorts of Fellows. Pourmand will additionally be responsible for infrastructure management and serve as the chief liaison to the Rise Board of Directors.
Cherng is the first new Director to be added to Rise’s Board since its launch, now joining a Board that includes Rideback CEO Dan Lin; Spencer Stuart Partner and The Blackhouse Foundation Founder, Brickson Diamond; Skoll Foundation’s Chief Communications & Partnerships Officer, Alice Rhee; and Take Two Interactive CEO and Zelnick Media Capital Managing Partner, Strauss Zelnick.
“We are thrilled that Tracey and Sabrina have joined Rise,” said Lin, who chairs Rise’s Board of Directors. “Tracey’s experience as a producer and executive and her eye for creative excellence make her the ideal leader to build the collaborative environment that will support our Rise filmmakers and creators and ensure the viability and saleability of their projects.”
Lin went on to say that “Sabrina’s vast experience and relationships across the social impact world coupled with her operational expertise will ensure that Rise is on the path to becoming an enduring and meaningful system of change. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we welcome Sabrina and Tracey to Rise and greatly look forward to their leadership.”
Added the producer: “We are delighted to welcome Andrea Cherng, a respected business leader whose executive and social impact experience will be an undeniable asset to our growing Rise Board. We are also immensely grateful to Kelsey and Bobby Murphy, whose transformative donation dramatically enhances our growth plans, and we want to acknowledge our new partners at Comcast NBCUniversal and their Global Talent Development & Inclusion team for their support and participation. We hope their involvement opens the door for others across the business world to financially support our Rise mission to drive social change.”
“The chance to work with some of industry’s most talented BIPOC writers and directors for the purpose of driving narrative change was one that I could not pass up,” said Bing. “I’m excited to join Rise and establish the Fellowship as a preemminent opportunity for story tellers to do their best work and make a difference. I’m grateful to Dan and the Rise board for entrusting me with this important role, and I can’t wait to get started.”
“If there’s one thing that I’ve quickly learned it’s that Dan Lin likes to dream big, and what he has already set in motion for Rise is remarkable and inspiring,” remarked Pourmand. “I’m excited to build on the incredible momentum of Rise and show our future partners, collaborators and supporters how they can take part in this important initiative to help achieve more racial equity.”
“I’m honored to join the Board of Directors of Rideback Rise and to help guide their important mission to drive narrative change through compelling and popular storytelling,” added Cherng. “I look forward to working closely with Dan and my fellow Board members in helping to build this unique, future-facing institution.”
Bing is best known for producing titles including the hit Netflix rom-com Nappily Ever After, and the Sundance darling Southside with You, distributed by Miramax/Roadside Attractions, among other titles. She previously served as VP, Production and Acquisitions at Warner Independent Pictures, also working as a consultant for media conglomerates including eOne Features, Warner Bros., Fox International and PBS. Bing has also served as an Adjunct Professor for USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program, and as Executive Director of Mira Nair’s Maisha Foundation, which provided training for aspiring East African filmmakers.
Pourmand is an executive advisor to multinational corporate foundations, brands, and major philanthropists who is well known for her efforts as an international humanitarian crisis responder, having raised and managed a $250M portfolio in response to the earthquake in Haiti, provided strategic consultation for organizations in Central America, and led a $40M emergency humanitarian response for Syrian refugees. She joined the nonprofit charity: water, bringing safe drinking water to developing nations, as Vice President of Key Relationships in 2014, leading her team to achieve $50M+ in annual revenue for the first time in their history. Her clients have included the American Journalism Project, African Leadership Group, New Story and Every.org, to name a few. She is also a trustee for Founders Pledge, a zero-cost, end-to-end solution for charitable giving built for entrepreneurs, and serves on the board of directors for The Philanthropy Workshop, a network of over 450 global leaders committed to solving the world’s most pressing social issues.
As Chief Brand Officer of Panda Restaurant Group, parent company of Panda Express, Cherng leads the growth and development of the Panda family of brands through strategy development, menu and concept innovation, marketing, and quality assurance. In 2021, under her leadership, Panda established the Panda CommUnity Fund — a five-year, $10M community investment and response program that supports immediate and sustainable solutions from national and local organizations to uplift diverse and marginalized groups, focusing on BIPOC communities. Her career path has also included successful stops as vice president of a Silicon Valley marketing consulting firm, as an attorney at global law firm Morrison & Foerster and work in the not-for-profit and public sectors focusing on disconnected youth and human rights.
Lin’s production company Rideback, founded in 2007, is otherwise best known for producing such tentpoles as Disney’s Aladdin, and series including The CW’s Walker, among other projects which have collectively grossed billions worldwide. Its accelerator, Rise, operates as a separate organization from the for-profit film and television company, though participants benefit from access to the Rideback Ranch creative campus in LA’s Historic Filipinotown.
Applications for the Rideback Rise Fellowship will formally open on March 15, with the first cohort to be unveiled this summer. More information on the program can be found here.
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