The USC School of Dramatic Arts has welcomed Nnamdi Asomugha, Rodric David, Steve Gersh and Jennifer Pate as the newest members of its Board of Councilors. They join a distinguished group of industry and community leaders who provide counsel, knowledge and support as the School continues to grow as a top-ranked institution for dramatic arts education.
Nnamdi Asomugha
Nnamdi Asomugha is an actor, producer, philanthropist and former All-Pro NFL Player. Following a successful 11-year career in the NFL, Asomugha channeled his passion for film and television into a career in the entertainment industry. In 2015, he founded iAm21 Entertainment, a production company whose mission is to create entertainment that illuminates important social issues and influences social change. Asomugha has consistently used his platform to enact positive change in the community, and with his family established The Asomugha Foundation in 2010, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to positively impact disadvantaged youth in the U.S.A. and underprivileged orphans and widows in Africa through education and empowerment. He has been honored for his philanthropic work with the NFL Players Association’s Man of the Year Award, The Jefferson Award for Public Service and the President’s Volunteer Service Award, to name a few. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in finance.
Rodric David
Rodric David is a serial entrepreneur and producer who has founded and successfully exited many companies in a variety of industries throughout his career. He has spent the past 15 years focusing on the convergence of technology and entertainment during the period when content distribution control and monetization was broadly fracturing and the Creator Economy was emerging. He is a thought leader in Web3 technology and the emergence of the Open Interoperable Metaverse, and has been a sought-after guest speaker at industry events around the world. Additionally, he is an accomplished executive producer, having produced television, digital media and feature films including 9/11 starring Charlie Sheen and Whoopi Goldberg, Paradise Cove starring Mena Suvari, the award-winning A Fighting Season, Sweetwater starring Richard Dreyfus and Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut Come Swim. Rodric is a multi-patented inventor for inventions in Web3 and the Creator Economy and is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts.
Steve Gersh
Steve Gersh is a senior partner at the Gersh Agency where he has been an agent in the talent department since 2008. He represents actors such as J.K. Simmons, Tom Hopper, Meagan Good, Josh Hutcherson, Isabel May, Deepika Padukone, Max Thieriot, Michael Chiklis and Matt Czuchry. He serves on both the agent trainee committee and the culture committee at the Agency. Steve was admitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2023. He is the fourth generation in his family at the Gersh Agency, founded by his paternal grandfather, Philip Gersh. Steve has a BA from Duke University and received a Master of Fine Arts in film producing from The Peter Stark Producing Program at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His Trojan roots give Steve a natural inclination to want to give back to USC in his professional area of focus — working with artists.
Jennifer Pate
Jennifer Pate is the creator and host of the award-winning web series, Jen and Barb Mom Life, for which she produced over 120 episodes, drew over 94 million video streams and had over 52 million unique viewers. During its five seasons, she received the Webby Award for Best Variety/Reality Show host, among other honors. Additionally, Pate co-created and co-produced three seasons of the scripted comedy Single Life for Condé Nast and Glamour.com. She is the co-writer of the self-help book, The Mothers of Reinvention: Reclaim Your Identity, Unleash Your Potential, Love Your Life published by Vanguard Publishing, and has been a featured speaker at events and conferences such as BlogHer and iMedia Brand Summit. Previously, Pate was a casting agent for over 20 years in television and film. She serves as an executive director and casting director for the Netflix series, Outer Banks.
This article appeared in the 2024-25 issue of Callboard magazine. Read more stories from the issue online.