Paradigm Adds 4 Female Agents After Making 50/50 Gender-Parity Pledge

Ashley Hanley, Valerie Champeau, Katelyn Dougherty and Rachel Ellicott join as agents

Paradigm Agents
RJ Lewis

Paradigm has hired four female talent agents after Debbee Klein, one of the agency’s top agents, pledged that the company would be committed to hitting 50/50 gender parity by 2020.

Paradigm announced on Tuesday that Ashley Hanley has been hired as a talent agent and that three more New York-based trainees have been promoted to agent, including Valerie Champeau, Katelyn Dougherty and Rachel Ellicott. Champeau will serve as a talent agent, Dougherty is in book publishing, and Ellicott joins the theatre lit and content department. Hanley will be based in the company’s Los Angeles headquarters.

Klein made the promise at TheWrap’s Be Conference in April, saying that the goal was to reach 50/50 by the end of this year.

“At Paradigm, we’ve made a big commitment to 50/50 by 2020 and I hope we get there. There’s never been a year where it’s more advantageous for women to get hired,” Klein said at the Be Conference. “It is important that our agency pool reflects our client list, and most of these agency pools don’t right now. They are male-driven, they are white for the most part. They are good agents, but it’s time to open this up and take that seriously.”

“We are committed to growing the next generation of agents and are proud to announce the promotion of three new agents based in our New York office. Valerie Champeau, Katelyn Dougherty and Rachel Ellicott have displayed an outstanding commitment to the artists we represent in Talent, Book Publishing and Theatre Lit & Content,” Scott Metzger, co-head of talent at Paradigm, said in a statement. “Ashley Hanley brings an incredible track record of discovering and nurturing talent across all formats. We welcome Ashley to the team and congratulate our new agents on their well-deserved promotions.”

Hanley’s clients include Sinqua Walls, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Yvette Monreal, Tracy Ifeachor, Emeraude Toubia and Darren Mann. Hanley, a University of Southern California graduate, joins Paradigm from APA.

Champeau joined Paradigm in 2015 after graduating from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she studied Television, Radio, and Film. Champeau’s growing roster of clients includes Austin Crute and Jacob Tobia, whose debut memoir “Sissy: A Coming-Of-Gender Story” is in development with Legendary TV and Michael Lannan.

Dougherty joined Paradigm in 2011 after graduating from the Screen Arts & Cultures Program at the University of Michigan. Dougherty’s clients include Emmy Award winner Tim McKeon, dietitian-nutritionist Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, pop culture commentator Jill Gutowitz, podcaster Jeffrey Masters, Wattpad’s Katarina E. Tonks, and writing duo Aimee Garcia and AJ Mendez.

Ellicott joined Paradigm in 2015 after graduating from Cornell University with a B.S. in Communication and a minor in Film. She is focused on signing the next generation of theatre artists. Her clients include director Sherri Eden Barber, composers/lyricists Keith Harrison, Laura Nicole Harrison, Billy Recce, Tor Hyams, and Lisa St. Lou, playwrights Laura Zlatos, Josh Wilder, Matt Cox and Lekethia Dalcoe, and mentalist Vinny DePonto. Ellicott serves on the New York board of the Junior Membership of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society.

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