Alumni Spotlight
Taylor Stuewe
Taylor graduated in 2016 after completing an internship at Warrior Poets through TFA's Semester in New York program. The following summer, she worked as a Cast PA on Marshall, after which she moved to Los Angeles to work full-time for Josh Gad (who co-starred in the film) and his company, Angry Child Productions.
During the 2020 pandemic, Taylor executive produced Josh's YouTube show Reunited Apart, which raised over $2 million for charity. In the same year, she was promoted to Creative Executive, spearheading Angry Child's development slate in both film and television under the company's first-look deal with 20th Television.
Most recently, Taylor served as Associate Producer on Spaceballs 2, slated for release in 2027.
Michael Esposito
Michael Esposito is an award-winning Senior Writer/Producer at Paramount with 12 years of experience overseeing Nickelodeon’s brand voice across all platforms. He began his career at Nickelodeon through the Buffalo State University TFA Internship program.
Michael leads creative for multi-million-dollar campaigns for iconic billion-dollar franchises, overseeing the full A/V process from greenlight through launch across TV, digital, social, theatrical, and out-of-home. His work includes writing and directing three SpongeBob SquarePants specials.
Hanna Woltz
During her time in TFA, Hanna secured three local internships on independent films. While in the office, she transitioned into art and set decoration. She went on to work and earn her IATSE 52 union card while A Quiet Place Part II was filmed in Buffalo. In 2019, she restarted the process in California and joined IATSE 44. Since then, she has worked in set decoration on Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen), The Gray Man (Russo Brothers), Palm Royale (Abe Silva, AppleTV), Joker: Folie à Deux (Todd Phillips), Spider-Noir (Amazon Prime), Dead Man’s Wire (Gus Van Sant), and Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (Grant Sputore).
At Buffalo State, Hanna learned that a strong connection can sometimes outweigh a candidate's experience on a resume. She entered TFA without knowing anyone in the industry, and through hard work and camaraderie, she built on the foundation Television and Film Arts provided.
Louis Winters
During his junior and senior years as a TFA major, Louis completed two internships in Los Angeles at DiBonaventura Pictures and Focus Features. After graduating in 2016, Louis moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a receptionist at The Weinstein Company before joining the CAA mailroom and then serving as an assistant to a motion picture literary agent. Following CAA, Louis held development assistant positions at Universal Pictures, Platinum Dunes, Lionsgate, and Netflix before joining BoulderLight Pictures as a creative executive.
Currently a director of development at BoulderLight, Louis oversees a diverse slate of feature projects, with an emphasis on horror and commercially focused genre material. He is credited on screen as head of development for the films Companion and Friendship and will be credited as an executive producer on the upcoming feature The Last Temptation of Becky and on the Jaume Collet-Serra-directed WWII thriller Play Dead.
Garrett Fallin
Garrett Fallin is a seasoned Visual Effects Supervisor and Producer with a broad portfolio spanning film, television, commercials, and web content. His career includes work on prominent projects such as AMC's The Walking Dead, ABC's Grey's Anatomy, Apple TV’s For All Mankind, Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zach Cregger's The Barbarian, and more than 30 other titles. With over 15 years of industry experience and as a proud, active member of the Visual Effects Society and the Television Academy, he's dedicated to pushing the boundaries of the art form.
A working nomad by trade, Garrett is currently based in the vibrant hub of Los Angeles, where he continues to pursue his passion for enhancing visual storytelling.
Robin Lazzara
Robin Lazzara is a filmmaker and entrepreneur who strongly believes in the importance of diversifying the film industry. She’s served as Production Secretary on A Quiet Place II, Nightmare Alley, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, and Murphy Brown. In 2020, she co-founded the Film Neighbor Network, a nonprofit that aims to diversify the film workforce in Western New York by making industry education free and accessible. She is also the founder of Glow Video, a Buffalo-based, woman-owned business that produces media for a diverse client base.
In 2023, she received the U.S. Small Business Administration's Buffalo District Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the New York Small Business Development Center's Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She currently serves on the board of Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center and works full-time as Project Manager for the Post Production Diversity Initiative (PPDI) at Buffalo State University.
