PARK CITY UT, June 2, 2025 – The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the addition of four new members to its Board of Trustees: Scott Frank, David Nevins, Greg Sarris, and Blair Ligelis Stein. The quartet joins a group of business, cultural, and philanthropic leaders who guide the nonprofit organization and serve in an advisory role. The new trustees will work closely with Board Chair Ebs Burnough and Acting CEO Amanda Kelso to further strengthen Sundance Institute’s commitment to independent storytellers. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Greg, David, Scott, and Blair to the Sundance Institute Board of Trustees,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair. “Their diverse backgrounds and remarkable achievements in their respective fields will bring invaluable perspectives to our work. Greg’s deep understanding of storytelling rooted in his Native American heritage and literary accomplishments, David’s producing and industry expertise, Scott’s acclaimed career as a screenwriter and director, and Blair’s extensive experience in global marketing and brand strategy will be crucial as we continue to support and champion independent artists.”

“As the Institute evolves to meet the ever-changing landscape of independent film and media, the expertise of our board members is paramount,” added Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute Acting CEO. “David’s knowledge propelling television forward as a consequential storytelling channel in the streaming era, Greg’s unique voice and commitment to cultural preservation, Scott’s exceptional storytelling prowess across film and television, and Blair’s strategic insights into reaching and engaging audiences will be tremendous assets. We are eager to collaborate with them and benefit from their wisdom.”

Scott Frank is a highly acclaimed screenwriter and director known for his work on films and television such as The Queen’s Gambit, Little Man Tate, Dead Again, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, and Logan. David Nevins is a veteran television executive and producer who previously held roles at Paramount Global, Showtime, and more. Greg Sarris is the Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, an award-winning author, and a filmmaker. Blair Ligelis Stein is a seasoned global marketing executive with two decades of experience in media, marketing, and brand strategy.  

These new trustees join the current board members: Robert Redford, President & Founder; Ebs Burnough, Chair; Sean Bailey, Vice Chair; Gigi Pritzker, Vice Chair; Jason Blum, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Philipp Engelhorn, Caterina Fake, Nina Fialkow, Jeanne Donovan Fisher, Robert J. Frankenberg, Patrick Gaspard, Donna Gruneich, Cindy Harrell Horn, Charles D. King, Ann Lewnes, Wonya Lucas, Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, Shripriya Mahesh, Pat Mitchell, Pete Nicks, William Plapinger, Amy Redford, Geoffrey K. Sands, Nadine Schiff-Rosen, Kimberly Steward, Tessa Thompson, Barry Tyerman, and Lulu Wang.

New Trustee Bios

Scott Frank has written the screenplays for Little Man Tate, Dead Again, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, The Interpreter, The Lookout, Marley & Me, A Walk Among the Tombstones, and Logan, as well as the teleplays for the series Godless, The Queen’s Gambit, Monsieur Spade, and Dept. Q. He directed The Lookout (Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature), A Walk Among the Tombstones, all episodes of Godless, The Queen’s Gambit, Monsieur Spade, and six episodes of Dept. Q. Out of Sight and Logan were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay. He received two Emmy Awards as director and producer of The Queen’s Gambit, for which he also received the DGA award. Frank received the WGA award for Out of Sight and The Queen’s Gambit. In 2025 he received the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement from the WGAE.

David Nevins is a veteran entertainment executive and producer. Most recently he served as CEO of the North Road Company, where he oversaw their global portfolio of companies. Previously, Nevins served as CEO of Showtime Networks and President of the Paramount Premium Group, where he oversaw Paramount+ Scripted Originals, Paramount Television Studios, and BET. At Showtime, Nevins oversaw acclaimed series such as Homeland, Billions, Yellowjackets, and Dexter: New Blood. Earlier, as president of Imagine Television, he produced 24, Friday Night Lights, and Parenthood, among others. Nevins began his career at Fox and NBC, contributing to landmark shows like ER, The West Wing, and Will & Grace. He received the NCTA Vanguard Award in 2014. Nevins currently serves as President of LA’s Saban Community Clinic board and is a board member of the Peabody Awards and the World Resources Institute.

Greg Sarris is serving his seventeenth consecutive term as Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. He received his B.A. in English from UCLA and his M.A. and Ph.D. in modern thought and literature from Stanford University. Formerly a full professor of English at UCLA and later the Fletcher Jones Professor of Creative Writing and Literature at Loyola Marymount University, Sarris now holds the title of Distinguished Emeritus Graton Endowed Chair in Native American Studies at Sonoma State University. He is the author of the award-winning novel Grand Avenue, which he adapted into an HBO miniseries and co-executive-produced with Robert Redford. His other books include Watermelon Nights, Weaving the Dream, Becoming Story, The Forgetters, and the upcoming The Last Human Bear. He is also the executive producer of the documentary Joan Baez: I Am a Noise. Sarris served on the board of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. He is an appointed UC Regent and elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Blair Ligelis Stein is Vice President of Marketing, U.S. Distribution at Paramount and has over 15 years of media, marketing, and brand strategy experience. Stein has led efforts to maximize linear and streaming distribution of Paramount content and reinforce the value of its brands and audiences with distribution partners through corporate mergers, rebrands, acquisitions, and product launches. Before Paramount, Blair was a brand strategy consultant at Interbrand, advising Fortune 500 clients on brand development and customer experience. She began her career as a marketing strategist at Ogilvy & Mather, focusing on CRM, loyalty, and digital marketing, earning an Effie Award nomination for her work with IHG. Stein holds an A.B. in politics from Princeton University and was a member of the Princeton Women’s Varsity Squash Team. She serves on The Chapin School Alumnae Board and is a member of Impact Partners, a fund that supports independent documentary films focused on pressing social issues.

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Hand out quotes from each new trustee: 

“The Sundance Institute has long been a champion for distinctive voices and compelling narratives, and I’m honored to join the Board of Trustees,” said David Nevins. “I look forward to contributing my experience in the evolving landscape of television to support the Institute’s vital mission of empowering independent storytellers across all platforms.”

“Having had the privilege of attending the Sundance Institute Writer’s Lab and collaborating with Robert Redford on the adaptation of my novel Grand Avenue, I have long admired Sundance Institute’s unwavering commitment to amplifying diverse voices and fostering authentic storytelling,” shared Greg Sarris. “I am deeply honored to join the board and contribute to an organization that has had such a profound impact on the landscape of independent cinema.”

As a longtime advisor, I’ve seen firsthand how Sundance Institute has supported a significant number of the most influential and original filmmakers of the last 40 years. The roster of highly respected artists that have been through our programs is astounding,” added Scott Frank. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the Board of Trustees so that I can help ensure that this important and essential work continues for the next 40 years.”

“The Sundance Institute’s mission to support independent artists and connect them with audiences around the world couldn’t be more critical today,” commented Blair Ligelis Stein. “I am thrilled to join the board of trustees to leverage my experience in brand strategy and distribution to help elevate the reach and impact of independent films and the talented creators behind them.”

Sundance Institute

As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Institute Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance Institute advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Dìdi (弟弟), Drunktown’s Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, Fruitvale Station, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, RBG, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and Zola. Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, The Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Bluesky.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: Tiffany Duersch, tiffany_duersch@sundance.org; Sylvy Fernández, sylvy_fernandez@sundance.org; Alex Courides, alex_courides@sundance.org