Shawn Tolleson Strategy Coaching™ Founder, Career Coach & Filmmaker

Shawn graduated from University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Drama, with a B.F.A in Acting and Directing and works as director, writer and producer.

As a director, she has worked extensively in the theatre, and written and directed three short films that have played film festivals worldwide. She directed the original production of Sam Shepard's It Wasn't Proust at the MET Theatre and was a writer and director on the the first webseries created parallel to a network television series, TheVisitor.com. She was a finalist for the ABC/DGA Directing Workshop (top 5 from over 500), the Film Independent Directors Lab, and the AFI Directing Workshop for Women.

Shawn is currently putting together two feature films that she will direct-- her adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry IV with Martin Sheen, Angela Bassett, Haley Joel Osmet and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and her original screenplay Yazoo Cryin' with Oscar-nominated Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda.) Earlier this year, she completed a proof-of-concept short for Henry IV which she directed with Martin Sheen. She is completing the script of Saturn Returns, an indie dramedy to shoot in Fall 2010.

As a producer and production manager, she has worked on over 100 commercials, music videos and high fashion stills shoots with some of the biggest names in the business. Credits include the Rolling Stones' music video Rain Fall Down, Vogue and W Magazine cover shoots and editorial spreads with photographer Steven Meisel, and commercials for BMW, Coke and T-Mobile.

As a writer, she has sold a pitch to Warner Bros. and pitched a single-camera comedy all the way to network.

Shawn has been coaching entertainment industry and other professionals in creating breakthroughs in their careers for over five years.

She has coached writers to landing TV staff writing positions, directors to securing financing for their projects, actors and directors to signing with representation, and a writer/producer of theatrical trailers to landing studio feature campaigns. She has coached actors to securing high profile auditions, worked with them in transforming their supporters into true believers, and strategized creating a buzz around evenings of theatre and screenings that have led to bookings in film and television.

These are only a few of the accomplishments of her clients. For more, please visit the Testimonials or Advance Team™ pages.

Gregory Lemkin Strategy Coaching™ Producer, Entertainment Industry Specialist & Filmmaker

Gregory has over twenty years experience in the entertainment industry. A graduate of Brown University, he began his career in Japan where he was the only non-Japanese in the commercials industry. After three years, and producing over 50 Japanese commercials, he traveled back to the U.S. as a production supervisor on the Japan/U.S. co-production of the film Iron Maze, executive produced by Oliver Stone.

He continued working in the commercial business, first as a bilingual 1st A.D., then as an agency producer for BBDO West in Los Angeles, and later as a director. He has directed commercials for Nintendo, Microsoft X-Box, Sony Online Entertainment, the LA Film Festival, and Asahi Beer, to name a few.

His Japanese fluency paid off when he was tapped to form and run SAI Softworks, a division of the video game giant SNK/Neo Geo, with $2m in venture capital. While there he pioneerd the use of motion-capture for the video game industry.

He ran his own successful production and post house, Tribe Digital Entertainment, producing, directing and overseeing post on broadcast and non-broadcast work for over ten years. Clients include Honeywell, Universal Creative, Altavista, Sprint, and the Citibank. He is an accomplished editor, having edited the video used by Steve Jobs to launch Final Cut Pro 2 at his MacWorld address in 2001.

Along the way, Gregory has worked as a feature writer and director, winning the prestigious John Truby Screenwriting Contest, co-writing his first feature as a director, Sci-Fi's Shapeshifter, and doing the feature adaption of the the cult graphic novel series Lament of the Lamb for manga giant TOKYOPOP. His short Tokyo: Spirit of Changing Times won numerous awards, played in festivals around the country, and was distributed worldwide by Hypnotic. His screenplay Paradise Falls is being packaged by casting director Monica Mikkelsen.

Recently, he has transitioned into doing prestigious visual effects supervisor work. Two current credits include the ABC hit comedy Modern Family and the CW pilot Melrose Place.

He produces Strategy Coaching™ workshops and events and consults with clients, bringing his extensive entertainment industry experience to strategizing their career breakthroughs.

Jan Eliasberg Co-Creator/Co-Leader of Anatomy of a Television Show™ & Writer/Director/Producer

Jan Eliasberg is a ground-breaking writer, director and producer. Jan was hand-picked by Michael Mann to be the first female director on Miami Vice, and was also the first woman to direct Crime Story, Wiseguy and 21 Jump Street. Michael Mann continues to mentor Jan to this day, godfathering her film Heart of the Atom. She was a writer/producer/director on NBC/WB’s acclaimed family drama, Sisters. As executive producer, she sold the pilot Spirit of Saint Louis to Nina Tassler at CBS and The Blue Wall, with Angela Bassett attached to star, to Fox. She has directed hundreds of hours of award-winning television including L.A. Law, Party of Five, Dawson's Creek, and The Ghost Whisperer, pilots for CBS, ABC and NBC, and worked with some of the greatest actors of her generation: Frances McDormand, Paul Giamatti, Stanley Tucci, and John Turturro.

As a feature writer, Jan wrote W.A.S.P., the story of the Women Air Service Pilots in World War II, for Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman and Fox Studios. She wrote The Gemcutter, a magical, family-film with Paul Schiff attached to produce and Jan to direct, for Sony Pictures. Heart of the Atom topped the B.B.C. short list for best screenplays of 2009, and was selected for Film Independent’s Producer’s Lab. The project has attracted the actor Cillian Murphy, as well as a stellar crew of Academy Award-winners including D.P. Robert Elswit and editor Christopher Rouse. Jan is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the directing program of Yale School of Drama.

Laci Sosa Strategy Coaching™ Associate Producer & Actress

Laci is originally from South Dakota where she first dreamt of becoming an actress under the direction of her high school play director, her mother. Laci studied theater and sociology at South Dakota State University and graduated in 2004 with a B.S. in Sociology. In August of 2004, Laci moved to California to pursue her dream of acting and earned her SAG card in 2005.

When Laci is not acting, auditioning, or studying acting, she volunteers her time on the leadership board of the non-profit organization and production company The Greenhouse Arts and Media, Inc. The Greenhouse is an organization that helps support budding creative artists in the form of classes, guest speakers, mentorship, and producing projects.

Recently, Laci has re-launched her career in public speaking. During her time as a college student and as a reigning Miss South Dakota contestant, Laci was a guest speaker at several venues across South Dakota. She was just hired to speak at North Dakota College of Science in Spring 2010.

Laci first came to Strategy Coaching™ as an actress looking to focus on setting up a "structure for accomplishment." Through her own work in Strategy for Actors & Filmmakers™ and Jump Start™ re-igniting her acting career, Laci discovered a passion for career coaching and supporting individuals in accomplishing their goals. She brings organization and enthusiasm to her work as Associate Producer.

Matthew Hannon Strategy Coaching™ Workshop Coordinator, Graphic Designer & Actor/Producer

Matthew is an actor and alumni of several Strategy Coaching™ programs. He's caused numerous breakthroughs including producing/directing/starring in a recent production of Endgame. He is currently acting and producing Seascape with Shark and Dancer, and can be seen in the title role of the upcoming indie film The Seminarian. He works with Strategy Coaching™ as a workshop coordinator and graphic designer when he’s not acting and producing.