Rideback Rise Sets Former Warner Bros Exec Diana Mogollón As CEO & Expands Fellowship Support For Year 2

Diana Mogollón

Rideback Rise, the nonprofit POC content accelerator launched by then-producer Dan Lin, has set its first CEO. Diana Mogollón, the founder and former head of Warner Bros.’ Stage 13, takes over the Rise leadership from founding Executive Director Sabrina Pourmand.

Mogollón will lead the nonprofit in its support of POC writers and filmmakers who are financially and creatively supported as they seek to develop their own market-ready mainstream television and film projects.

Under Mogollón’s leadership, the upcoming 2024 and 2025 cohort of Rise fellows is being reconfigured and expanded from five to up to 15, who will each receive $40K stipends in addition to accessing development funds to secure IP, create visual materials and shoot proof-of-concepts. The new configuration significantly increases the investment in Rise creators and replaces the prior configuration of five fellows and 10 Residents, who each received $50K and $10K, respectively. The application period for the 2024 and 2025 fellowship runs June 1-30.

“In a short time, Rise has established itself as a highly respected institution doing the necessary work to advance narrative change by developing mainstream content by diverse creators, and I am honored to have been entrusted to lead Rise at a time when the industry is contracting and the need to amplify POC stories is both real and good business,” said Mogollón. “Since stepping in I have been in awe of the excellence of our current cohort, and I’m excited to welcome our second cohort of fellows later this fall. We are determined to make a difference in bringing more POC voices to the forefront of film and television with stories that engage audiences across the board.”

Said Lin: “Diana is an inspiring leader with an impressive track record of bringing underrepresented voices to the forefront, as evidenced by her vision and tenacity in building the Stage 13 studio to champion POC storytellers. On behalf of the Rise Board, I’m thrilled Diana is taking the helm at Rise and applying her distinct vision, passion and leadership to advancing the Rise mission and working with Rise’s supremely talented story tellers of color to drive narrative change.

“I would also like to express gratitude to our Founding Executive Director Sabrina Pourmand, whose interim tenure brilliantly set Rise on its current path to being an industry change agent,” he added, “and to our first-ever Head of Content, Tracey Bing, a formidable producer and champion of artists who worked tirelessly to recruit and operationalize the Rise cohort. We are indebted to them both.”

Mogollón most recently served as the SVP and General Manager of Stage 13, a six-time Emmy-nominated original content studio and production company incubated and launched in 2016 as part of Warner Bros. Entertainment/Warner Bros. Television Group. Prior to Stage 13, she was EVP and General Manager for the mun2 cable network at NBCUniversal.

Mogollón is expected to announce new members of the Rise team in the coming weeks. They will join Rise Talent and Creative Development Manager April Chang.