Photo credit: Rebecca J. Michelson
New members will join board devoted to enhancing the policies in place for providing the programs and services of the organization to the entertainment community.
New York, NY (June 6, 2024) — At their annual board meeting held on June 5, the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund) welcomed the appointment of four new board members: David Henry Hwang, Robert (Toby) McDonough, Frank Nocco and Katherine Oliver. The Fund, founded in 1882, is a national human services organization that supports professionals in performing arts and entertainment. Annette Bening will continue to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Bening stated, “As I enter my second year as the Fund’s Board Chair, I reflect on all we’ve accomplished. Recently, the entertainment community has faced a sea of challenges, and the Fund has stepped up to provide relief through services that address increased financial, housing, health care and career needs. We also proudly launched the public phase of our $160 million ESSENTIAL Campaign, created to expand our existing programs and grow our capacity to help more people throughout the country.”
“We are elated to continue to work with Annette in her role as Chair, and eagerly welcome David, Toby, Frank and Katherine to our Board. With their background, expertise and commitment to the advancement of the Fund’s mission, we are confident that their leadership will help us continue to provide for the unique needs of performing arts and entertainment professionals now and for many years to come,” said Fund President and CEO Joe Benincasa.
David Henry Hwang, playwright and librettist
Robert (Toby) McDonough, Treasurer of Local One, IATSE
Frank Nocco, Head of the U.S. Structured Finance and Derivatives practice, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Katherine Oliver, media and entertainment executive and Principal at Bloomberg Associates
For more information about the Board, councils and committees of the Entertainment Community Fund, visit entertainmentcommunity.org/leadership
BIOGRAPHIES
DAVID HENRY HWANG
David Henry Hwang’s stage works include the plays M. Butterfly, Yellow Face (Broadway revival upcoming, fall 2024), Chinglish, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad and FOB, as well as the musicals Soft Power, Aida, Flower Drum Song and Disney’s Tarzan. Called America’s most-produced living opera librettist by Opera News, he has written thirteen libretti, including five with composer Philip Glass. Ainadamar, with music by Osvaldo Golijov, will receive its Metropolitan Opera premiere in fall 2024. His screenplays include M. Butterfly, and he is penning an Anna May Wong biopic to star actress Gemma Chan. Hwang co-wrote the Gold Record “Solo” with the late pop music icon Prince and was a Writer/Consulting Producer for the Golden Globe-winning television series The Affair from 2015-2019. He is currently show-running and creating a new television series, Billion Dollar Whale. A professor at Columbia University, Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a Grammy Award winner and two-time nominee, a three-time OBIE Award winner and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. He was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2018 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021; his star was unveiled on the Lucille Lortel Playwrights Sidewalk in 2022.
ROBERT (TOBY) MCDONOUGH
Toby is currently the Treasurer of Local One, IATSE. His Grandfather received his Union Card in 1917, and two of his three sons are card carrying members. He has been in the entertainment business for 43 years, as a stagehand for 20 and as an officer of Local One for 23. He is a Trustee to the Pension, Welfare, Annuity and Training Funds, co-chair of Local One’s Political Action, Budget and Finance Committees and he sits on several contract negotiating committees as well.
Toby is a board member of District 10, IATSE. District 10 represents over 20,000 stagehands in the New York and New Jersey areas. He chairs the Finance Committee as well. He sits on the Broadway League Tax Relief Committee. He has attended numerous International Foundation of Fund Administrators all over the continental US and Hawaii.
Toby has been a New York State Certified Commercial Real Estate appraiser since 1990, which requires him to recertify his license every two years with 27 course credits. He is directly involved with managing Local One’s six story office building, located on 46th Street, which they have owned since the mid-1980s.
Toby was recently named as one of “Who’s Who in Budget and Finance” in the February 19, 2024 issue of City & State New York.
Local One is a generous contributor to the Entertainment Community Fund. Local One helped launch the Fund’s first Celebri-TEE Golf and Tennis Outing at the Knickerbocker Country Club in New Jersey. Toby has been a co-host for several of those annual outings.
FRANK NOCCO
Frank Nocco is Head of Weil’s U.S. Structured Finance and Derivatives practice, Co-Head of the Global Structured Finance and Derivatives practice and is based in New York. Frank represents issuers, underwriters, placement agents, credit enhancers, investors and collateral managers in structured securities offerings, both in the United States and abroad.
Frank is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer for Securitization by Chambers USA and Chambers Global, where clients note he “is very experienced, very hands-on, and he is very good about thinking through new and unusual situations.” Frank is listed in the Structured Finance: Securitization “Hall of Fame” by Legal 500 US, where clients note he “is arguably the most knowledgeable structured finance partner in the business. He is exceptional and laser-focused on results.” He is also ranked as a “Market Leader” for Structured Finance and Securitization in the U.S. by IFLR1000. He was named among the 2019 Top 30 “Best of the Best” attorneys for Structured Finance & Securitization by Legal Media Group. Frank has also been named a “Best Lawyer” for Securitization and Structured Finance Law by Best Lawyers in America and has been recognized by Law Business Research’s International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers and Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Structured Finance Lawyers.
KATHERINE OLIVER
Katherine Oliver is a founding Principal of Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that is a part of Bloomberg Philanthropies and advises cities around the world. Katherine oversees the media and digital strategies portfolio, working with cities on economic development and public communications strategies, while helping them harness the power of media and technology to improve government services.
Katherine also oversees Bloomberg Philanthropies’ film portfolio, serving as Executive Producer on From the Ashes and Paris to Pittsburgh, two environmental documentary films tackling climate change; and The Invisible Shield, a docuseries on the history and significance of public health. She actively supports nonprofit organizations dedicated to storytelling and filmmaking, including the Academy Museum, Ghetto Film School, Paley Center and Center for Communication. Katherine is also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Sciences.
Katherine served as Commissioner of NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment from 2002-2013, during the Bloomberg Administration, building NYC into an $8 billion film and TV production capital, increasing local employment levels by 50% and implementing the “Made in NY” marketing and branding program. She also drove the City’s support of the tech sector and launched NYC Digital, a new city agency created in 2010 to realize the full integration of the City’s varied digital platforms and the full utilization of technology and social media to foster a responsive and modern government. Signature initiatives, such as the now globally recognized “Made in NY” marketing and branding campaign, served as a cornerstone in the strategy to secure passage of the first-ever municipal tax credit for the film and TV industry and an opportunity to recognize the growing tech sector in New York City and create a beacon to attract talent from across the United States and the world.