Diane Raver
Diane (“Didi”) Brown Raver is a film and education executive with a 40-year career spanning fashion, commercial production, and workforce development in the entertainment industry. She currently serves as Executive Director of the New Jersey Film Academy, where she has led the development of a workforce training initiative that has certified 104 students in film production in less than a year, connecting graduates directly to job opportunities and industry pathways. She is also the founder and Executive Director of the Garden State Film Festival, which has grown into the largest film event in New Jersey and an internationally recognized platform for independent filmmakers.
Raver began her career in New York as a textile designer, but witnessed the industry shift overseas as production moved to Asia. Her entry into film came unexpectedly through a cousin’s summer internship at a production company, where she was asked to answer phones for a few days. That short assignment led to a breakthrough opportunity after she demonstrated strong sales instincts soon she was carrying directors’ reels to advertising agencies and helping secure national commercial deals. As her career progressed, she encountered challenges with commission payments, and with the support of her husband, she made the decision to start her own company, gaining greater control over her work and earnings.
She went on to become the first female president of a television commercial production company, building it primarily out of a drive to be fairly compensated and professionally recognized. In her first year alone, she billed $2 million and received a personal paycheck of $35,000—an experience she has described as both thrilling and overwhelming. After returning to New Jersey to raise her family, she remained active in the industry and, recognizing a need for a central gathering space, founded what would become the Garden State Film Festival. Building on that legacy, she now continues her impact through the New Jersey Film Academy and the creation of NewJerseyProductionGuide.org, both focused on strengthening workforce development and connecting trained professionals with employers across the film industry.
• Philadelphia University - BS, Textile Design
• Mount Ida College - AA, Fine Arts
• Screen Alliance of New Jersey
• President of local garden club (Holic Seeger)
• Clean Ocean Action
• Chesapeake Bay
• PBS
• NPR
What do you attribute your success to?
I'd say probably the film festival and the Film Academy are my most notable achievements because they didn't exist prior to me pulling them out of thin air and building them brick by brick. It helps that I had the sales gene. I grew up in a real estate family, and making a deal was always an important aspect of survival. I said, oh, I don't want to get in the real estate business, that's terrible. Then what'd I do? I did the same thing in a different industry, where you lived or died by what you sold. Fortunately, I was gifted with that gene and able to get support, and that's really been the secret: my ability to get support for these initiatives. I couldn't have done the Film Academy without the great support of Dr. David Stout, the president of Brookdale Community College. I found out about Netflix nosing around the camp the minute it happened, ran to him the next day and said, listen, Netflix is gonna take over Fort Monmouth, if we're going to do workforce, we've got to get ahead of it, and he was all in from the beginning. Not everybody would have done that. A lot of people in my career have thought I was crazy because I was doing things that weren't done before, but he supported me in that initiative.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
First of all, I would tell her I fell in the deep end of the pool, I didn't know anything. So, what we can give them is a strong foundation, and not at an exorbitant cost. I don't believe anybody should be in debt for the rest of their lives for their education. To be certified, you have to take two courses. The first one's $375, and the subsequent ones are $799 in nine tracks you can get certified in. If you wanted to get in this business, it's really about being prepared. You gotta know protocols, you gotta know safety, you gotta know language, and then getting out there. If you're a wallflower, it's a business of contacts. I also invented the NewJerseyProductionGuide.org, so that it's a complete listing of everyone in the business, and our certified folks are front and center, so employers will know that they were trained properly. Life experiences taught me to take every opportunity as it's presented to you. Sometimes you have to zigzag in your life, but I managed to embrace the opportunities that came my way, and I think that embracing it rather than boo-hooing about what isn't working out is a very good life lesson.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
New Jersey is booming right now. Studios are popping up, thanks to former governor Phil Murphy who reinstated the tax incentive, and New Jersey, where the film industry was born, is now taking back its birthright. Netflix took over a decommissioned army camp about 5 miles up the road from me. That's why I've been working through the Council of Community Colleges in the state and brought consistent workforce development training to 13 of the 18 colleges. We launched a year ago, last night we certified 11 more students, bringing it to a total of 104 students in less than a year that have been certified and ready to work. Then we help them get job opportunities and work-based learning opportunities. However, it's tough for women in the industry. The glass ceiling broke in 1987 when I smashed one, and it got okay for a while, but it's bad again. Women are discounted, they have to fight for everything, we have to be faster, smarter, better. It's disheartening that my daughters and my future granddaughters would have to put up with this after all these years. There are particular men I can think of who would love to kill me off and steal my stuff, and that's been going on my whole career.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
It's one thing to train students, but we're actually helping them get work, and that's the difference between being successful at something in my opinion. You can build something, but if it doesn't work for betterment of the community, then what's the point? I have a program manager who started his career working as a PA for me at the sixth year of the film festival. I introduced him to some folks I know, he went to California, won Emmys, had a huge career, but came back to work for me. All of that because I helped him early on, and it's all coming around. His contacts helped three of our students get the ball drop at Times Square on New Year's Eve, and we have three of them right now on Project Runway. It all comes around in a circle, so who you help now helps you. Karma's good if you're good to it. I've never taken any money out of the film festival. We pay our other folks, but I have never taken any money. It's always been a labor of love. We've launched so many careers, so many wonderful things have happened, so many people stop me and say what it meant to them to be a part of our platform for basically freedom of speech and expression in this country. My personal interests include being a fine art painter, gardener, and I love gourmet cooking. I'm a mother and stepmother to seven children altogether and now have many grandchildren.