Handy Foundation alumni land roles on 7 Emmy-recognized TV productions

The Handy Foundation says apprentices and alumni worked on seven Emmy-nominated productions this season, including Euphoria, Queer Eye and Welcome to Wrexham. The milestone underscores the nonprofit’s push to turn training into paid industry credits and longer-term careers behind the camera.

Why it matters: - The Handy Foundation is showing a direct pipeline from training to credits on top-tier television productions. - Alumni and apprentices are gaining roles that can help them build sustainable careers in assistant editing, post-production, makeup and production management. - Two of the productions staffed by Handy Foundation talent also won Creative Arts Emmy Awards, adding proof points for the program’s workforce model.

What happened: - Handy Foundation apprentices and alumni contributed to seven Emmy-nominated productions this season: Euphoria, Queer Eye, Dancing with the Stars, Welcome to Wrexham, Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross, With Love, Meghan and Sean Combs: The Reckoning. - The Foundation said two of those productions later won Creative Arts Emmy Awards: Welcome to Wrexham for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Reality Program and Sean Combs: The Reckoning for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program. - The talent worked in assistant editing, post-production, makeup, production coordination and production management roles. - Founder and CEO Ri-Karlo Handy built the organization to move people into skilled film, television and digital-media careers through career exploration, specialized training, pre-apprenticeship, registered apprenticeship and employer engagement.

The details: - Stephanie Ledezma worked as assistant editor/additional editor on Euphoria. - Adelina Beisenalina worked as assistant editor/junior editor on Queer Eye. - Andrea Joy Tucker worked as assistant production office coordinator on Queer Eye and associate producer on Dancing with the Stars. - Cortney Taborn worked as assistant editor on the Creative Arts Emmy-winning Welcome to Wrexham. - Brooke Nicholas worked as production coordinator on With Love, Meghan. - Ricole Handy and Claire Yang worked as assistant editors on Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross. - Arielle Green worked as makeup artist on the Creative Arts Emmy-winning Sean Combs: The Reckoning. - Employer partners tied to the recognized series included HBO, A24, Scout Productions, Netflix, BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions, ABC, Boardwalk Pictures, Maximum Effort, FX and Archewell Productions. - Since 2020, the Handy Foundation says it has trained 233 apprentices and placed 113 graduates on industry productions. - Its training pathways include assistant editing, story editing, production coordination, post-production, hair and makeup, audio production and virtual production roles.

Between the lines: - The results suggest the biggest hurdle for new entrants is not talent alone, but access to training, mentors and employer connections. - Handy Foundation is positioning itself as a bridge between short-term training and the first professional credits needed to stay in the industry. - The organization is also aligning its programs with a changing media market shaped by streaming, virtual production, artificial intelligence and new content-creation models.

What's next: - The Handy Foundation says it is expanding youth, pre-apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship initiatives. - The nonprofit is also building new relationships with employers, educational organizations, industry stakeholders and corporate partners. - The Foundation is preparing the next wave of participants for television and digital-media jobs as production workflows continue to change. - More information about the Handy Foundation and its workforce programs is available at HandyFoundation.org.