The Directors Guild Of America African American Steering Committee Reveals 2025 Class For The Learning Tree Fellowship

The DGA’s African American Steering Committee (AASC) has announced the eight filmmakers selected for the third class of The Learning Tree Fellowship Directing Program, a professional development initiative designed to support and mentor emerging African American directors.

Launched in 2020 by director Jeff Byrd (Yellowjackets), then-Chair of the AASC, the program was developed in response to both the COVID-19 production shutdown and the national racial reckoning that followed. Named in tribute to Gordon Parks’ landmark 1969 film The Learning Tree, the fellowship aims to prepare directors for the unique creative and professional challenges of working in today’s entertainment industry.

This year’s fellows are Nandi Bowe, Patrick Coker, Alycia Cooper, Ruganzu Howard, Terrisha “TK” Kearse, Arthur Muhammed, Candice Vernon, and Eric Wilson. The program was led by Byrd alongside directors Morenike Joela Evans (Grey’s Anatomy) and Courtney M. Franklin (The Sex Lives of College Girls), who guided participants through twice-weekly virtual sessions focused on every stage of directing, from pre-production and on-set leadership to collaboration and career strategy.

Guest mentors included top industry figures such as Ahmadou Seck (VP of Scripted TV, MACRO), Pete Chatmon (Power: Origins), Angela Barnes (Ironheart), Ramla Mohammed (Reasonable Doubt), Anya Adams (North of North), Bill Purple (Fire Country), and Brett Dismuke and Nikki Love of ALLBLK & WEtv.

Quoting Gordon Parks, the program’s namesake, the organizers emphasized its spirit of creative courage: “The one who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed.”

The AASC is currently chaired by directors Eric Dean Seaton, Pete Chatmon, and Paul Lindsay. The committee continues to expand opportunities for underrepresented voices in the directing community and to strengthen pathways toward inclusive leadership in the industry.