Shure Assembles Top Female Broadcast Tech Experts for Global Women in Technology Panel
NILES, Ill., November 9, 2023 — Shure hosted its third in an ongoing series of “Celebrating Women in Technology” panels. Previous panels focused on theater and on location sound, while this one highlighted the broadcast industry.
Shure President and CEO Chris Schyvinck moderated a panel of leading female broadcast sound experts from around the world to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and the future of the industry.
Panelists included:
- Jillian Arnold – Arnold is a video engineer who specializes in video workflow engineering, digital acquisition, and media management. She started her career overseeing high-speed, high-resolution productions for engineering analysis as part of the Mars Program at NASA. She currently manages recording and file management for live television, broadcast, and corporate event projects. Arnold is also the first female president of Local 695 – Sound, Video & Projection, and is a member of the Television Academy.
- Apollonia van Dun – She is a professional boom operator in the Netherlands. She attended film school where she fell in love with sound, working in editing and other responsibilities before landing as a boom operator where she loves capturing live audio.
- Robyn Gerry-Rose – Gerry-Rose studied live sound reinforcement at Columbia College in Chicago. In 2012, she moved to Los Angeles where she joined IATSE Local 695. She has “A2-ed” on live or live-to-tape broadcast ranging from game shows to talk shows to live events The Academy Awards, The Emmy Awards, The Latin Grammys and more.
- Yezmin Blue – Blue is the manager of broadcast engineering for the Seattle Mariners, where she has worked for nearly 24 years. She is responsible for management, maintenance, and administration of all aspects of ballpark broadcast engineering, audio-visual, and technical services.
- Lina Arja – She currently works as a sound assistant at NEP in the Netherlands. Lina has worked on many sporting events such as Champions League matches and cricket, as well as daily talk shows, music festivals, and a variety of game shows.
Panelists shared the positive changes they’ve seen in the industry over time.
“There were very few women that I encountered through the years,” said Blue, who has worked with the Mariners organization for nearly 24 years. “That has changed in the last four to five years. We see women in all roles in the sports industry, which is beautiful. I was fortunate enough to have mentors that were interested in helping.”
They stressed the importance of educating younger women and those from diverse backgrounds to learn more about the wonderful opportunities in this profession.
“A lot of young women don't know these positions exist,” said Arnold. “I think when you go the traditional film school route, it's director, producer, writers, maybe cinematographer, maybe sound mixer, production designer, but the more young women that I speak to, they don't understand that there's so many other jobs available. I think it's really on us to be the leaders in that mentorship for younger women.”
The panel also took live questions from social media about how they got into their careers and what advice they could share with others.
“Be curious and let that curiosity guide you,” said Gerry-Rose. “Often careers -- regardless of the industry – are not linear and you never know who you're going to meet and what's going to happen. So be open and network and be aware of the people around you.”
The panel replay is available at: https://www.shure.com/en-US/videos/events/webinars/celebrating-women-in-tech-broadcast-sound-shure.