The PGA established the Debra Hill Fellowship in 2005 following the passing of Debra Hill, a pioneering producer, beloved mentor and long-time member of the Producers Guild’s Board of Directors. The Guild established the Fellowship to honor and extend Debra’s legacy, including her ardent support of such issues as producers’ creative rights, women in entertainment, and a variety of green and environmental initiatives, as well as her commitment to teaching and mentoring succeeding generations of producers. Debra’s visionary idealism has been incorporated into the Fellowship’s mission statement, which notes that the award "has been established to provide significant financial support to a promising producer as she or he embarks on their career ‘to change the world."

The Debra Hill Fellowship is typically awarded annually to an individual completing an accredited graduate program in producing, and whose work, interests, professionalism and passion mirror that of Debra Hill. Schools whose programs qualify for consideration include USC, UCLA, NYU, Columbia University, the American Film Institute, the University of Arizona, Chapman University, Columbia College Chicago and the North Carolina School of the Arts. The size of the grant varies with the support that the Fellowship receives in any given year. Significantly, the grant cannot be used for further educational expenses, but is intended to assist the recipient in launching a producing career, providing funds to secure overhead, option material, and covering other professional expenses.

The Debra Hill Fellowship, which is administered through the Producers Guild of America Foundation, isn’t just a way of honoring a beloved colleague, but a logical extension of the mission of the Producers Guild itself. As the nation’s most significant grant dedicated explicitly to emerging producers, it represents the Guild’s most significant outreach and commitment to the next generation of talented young storytellers.

• If you are interested in donating to the Fellowship (not necessarily monetary, but also tickets or unique experiences to be auctioned off) please contact cooassistant@producersguild.org.
• Further queries may be submitted to pgaadmin@producersguild.org

   

Fellowship Winners

2005
Lucienne Papon, UCLA

2006
Rachel Vine, Columbia

2007
Eleonore Dailly, USC

2008
Jessica Daniels, Columbia

2009
Not presented

2010
Jacob Jaffke, Columbia

2011
Not presented

2012
Deniese Davis, AFI

2013
Rob Cristiano, Columbia

2014
Ashleigh Foster, USC

2015
Monique Keller, USC

2016
Diego Najera Martinez, USC 

2017
Montserrat Gomez, USC 

2018
Asia Coleman, AFI 

2019

Not presented

2020

Not presented

2021

Not presented

2022

Maggie Bailey, University of Texas at Austin