STOCKADE WORKS 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW

Stockade Works reached new milestones in 2025, while doubling down on what matters most.

In addition to launching new training programs and securing production partnerships, we connected with younger audiences through the Stockade Works Access Youth (SWAY) program and further strengthened our commitment to our graduate network through mentorship, career services, and job referrals.

In 2025, Stockade Works:

  • Stockade Works Trainings for local residents in their Core Program

    Trained 37 Hudson Valley adults

    Stockade Works trained 37 local residents through our core programming, resulting in a total graduate base of 448 trained local crew.

  • Stockade Works Graduates of the SWAY pilot program at Ellenville High School

    Served 127 high school students

    Through the expansion of the Stockade Works Access Youth (SWAY) program, we served 98 students at Ellenville High School and 29 teens in two SWAY programs in Hudson, NY.

  • Stockade Works partners with a few local studios in the Hudson Valley

    Offered paid on-the-job training

    Stockade Works trained 4 local residents in Craft Services, in partnership with a local independent production, which included each trainee working in a paid position on set.

  • Stockade Works Trainings and Bootcamps in the Hudson Vallley

    Provided mentorship & career support to graduates

    Stockade Works’ new mentorship program provided 10 graduates with 1:1 mentorship from professional, top-of-their-field mentors and added new workshops to support graduates in their careers.

  • Prepared a new group of local crew to work in Sound for Film & TV

    Fifteen individuals received training from industry experts Allison Jackson and Mike O’Brien on industry-standard equipment, graduating with the skills and confidence needed to work in the Sound Department on set.

  • Graduated a new cohort of locals to work in Scenic & Set Dressing

    Twenty individuals received training from industry experts in Scenic Art and Set Dressing, graduating with the skills and confidence needed to work in the Art Department on set.

As always, we champion racial, gender, and socioeconomic diversity, striving to make systemic change in the Film & Television industry from the ground up.

Stockade Works Grads are…

41%

BIPOC

74%

Unemployed or low-income (at the time they apply)

63%

Women or Non-Binary

Production in the Hudson Valley picked up, and as a result, we made 9,941 referrals of our grads and local crew to 74 production jobs, providing crew referral services for 52 local productions !

…Stockade Works trainings left me feeling not only confident, but 100% prepared.

Brittny Kouta | 2025 Craft Services Internship Trainee

“The real learning begins on set in real time. But Stockade Works trainings left me feeling not only confident, but 100% prepared.”

Stockade Works offers direction on how to keep developing after the workshop…[it] exceeded my expectations, and keeps giving.

Michael Bodnar | 2025 Scenic & Set Dressing Trainee

“The Scenic Painting & Set Dressing Workshop was an immensely valuable experience. We learned the real-world skills and dynamics of the TV and film industry—and put all of it into action. In addition, Stockade Works offers direction on how to keep developing after the workshop—including leads on how to pursue work in the trade. I'm grateful for this opportunity, which exceeded my expectations, and keeps giving.”

I walked out with a new look on the industry!

Abira K. | 2025 SWAY Teen Crew Boot Camp Trainee

“This program taught me valuable aspects of film! I walked in knowing little to nothing about set production, but once it came time for the mock shoot, I walked out with a new look on the industry!”

-Abira K.

I am much more confident transitioning into professional work after attending this workshop.

Sarah Schwartz | 2025 Sound Trainee

“Stockade Works is exactly what I was looking for as a recent film graduate who wanted to learn more about working in a specific role on set. I am much more confident transitioning into professional work after attending this workshop.”

Our 2025 Trainings:

See All Trainings

2025 Highlights

MENTORSHIP

Through sponsorship from the Key Bank Foundation, Stockade Works was able to enhance and expand its mentorship program. Ten Stockade Works program graduates received three hours of individualized, 1:1 mentorship from an accomplished professional in their chosen field. Through this program, Stockade Works also hosted two Career Workshops for all program graduates and our network of local crew. Workshops covered topics including filing taxes as a freelance professional and applying for and landing a job in film & television.

ON-THE-JOB INTERNSHIPS

Through a partnership with an independent feature shooting in the Hudson Valley over the course of the month of June, four Stockade Works graduates applied and were selected for a paid training and internship in the department of Craft Services. After receiving specialized departmental training and a primer in “setiquette”, each trainee worked as a paid intern for one week in the Craft Services department on the production, along with additional time allotted to shadow other on-set departments. 

EXPANSION OF SWAY

Entering its third year in 2025 at Ellenville High School, the Stockade Works Access Youth (SWAY) program has expanded to include art department modules, including Props and Set Decorating. The result of this expansion, in addition to the core modules of Camera, Grip, Electric, Costume & Wardrobe, and Assistant Directing, culminates in the year-end Mock Shoot, where students apply their learning. This year’s shoot was based on scenes from Back to the Future.

SWAY is now not only an in-school program, but has evolved into a new offering: a summer camp-style intensive for teens! Sponsored by the Eutopia Foundation and the Hudson Valley Foundation for Youth Health, the pilot SWAY Teen Crew Boot Camp took place at The Spark in Hudson, NY, and served 10 Columbia County-based teens this summer. After rotating through Camera, Grip, Electric, Art, and Production departments, the teens were placed in their areas of greatest interest and applied their learning as a film crew for a Mock Shoot. The training included daily stipends for the teens, along with transportation and meals. 

As part of the SWAY initiative and in partnership with the Hudson Film Festival, Stockade Works also led an engaging, hands-on film and television workshop for middle school students (grades 6-8), challenging young creatives to think across genres and engage in collaborative problem solving. Through a 3.5-hour immersive session, instructors introduced students to key behind-the-scenes roles in film and TV, including Camera, Sound, Grip, and Electric. Working in small groups, students learned how to storyboard, direct, and shoot short scenes across different genres. By the end of the workshop, each group contributed to a short, edited video compilation that was screened at the festival – serving as both a creative showcase and a student work sample.

See the middle school students’ final project!

ADIRONDACK FILM PARTNERSHIP

For a third year, Stockade Works was invited to the Lake Placid Film Festival to participate in educational programming on careers in Film & Television. This year, Stockade Works was the guest of honor at the annual Red Carpet Cocktail for our contributions to workforce and economic development in New York State and for our support in propelling the Adirondack region toward its goal of becoming a destination for film and television production.

We need your support as we dive into 2026!

  • Make a General Donation

    Stockade Works has a proven track record of meeting the growing demand for local crew as Film & Television blossoms in the Hudson Valley. The best way you can support us is through a general donation, ensuring that as opportunities for employment in the industry increase, our ability to support our community with quality trainings, mentorship, and job services grows commensurately.

  • Provide Scholarships

    We believe all individuals deserve access to their dream jobs in Film & Television, which is why no one is ever turned away from Stockade Works’ training programs for an inability to pay. The Stockade Works Scholarship Fund ensures over 95% of trainees receive full and partial scholarships to access the education and resources needed to break into the business.

  • Build Pathways for Youth

    The Stockade Works Access Youth (SWAY) program provides career exploration and training for underserved teens at high schools in the Hudson Valley. The SWAY Fund underwrites all overhead costs of the program, making it an accessible price point for schools and ultimately opening minds and doors for teens to start thinking about viable careers in Film & Television that are available to them right in their own communities.

  • Provide Access to Equipment

    Stockade Works is growing its arsenal of top-of-the-line film equipment. Owned equipment not only lessens the financial burden of obtaining and transporting rentals for our trainings, but it also removes a major barrier for trainees who need department-specific equipment or “kits” to secure employment in certain areas of production. The Stockade Works Equipment Fund enables Stockade Works to grow its equipment holdings and subsidize rental fees to trainees so they can move up in the industry and join unions.

Help Make a Difference

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Thank you to our 2025 supporters!

THANK

YOU

  • Anonymous

  • Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley

  • The Dealy Foundation

  • Eutopia Foundation

  • Granny B&P Foundation

  • Gotham Sound

  • Hudson Film Festival

  • Hudson Valley Foundation for Youth Health

  • Key Bank Foundation

  • National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

  • New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)

  • New York State Council for the Arts (NYSCA)

  • Novo Foundation

  • Spark of Hudson

  • Warner Brothers Discovery

  • Workforce Development Institute

MAKE LOCAL WORK

  • Arrowood Farms

  • Christina & Dan Ahouse

  • Jeff Aman

  • Chestnut Street Design & Construction

  • Gabrielle Fialkoff & Gianluca Galletto

  • Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty

  • IATSE Local 52

Benefit Sponsors

  • IATSE Local 161

  • Tammy Johnston

  • Markertek

  • M&T Bank

  • Phoenicia Diner

  • Pivotal Post

  • Second Bolt

  • Stew Meyers

  • Stockade Strategies

  • Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation

  • Upstate Curious

  • Upstate Down

  • Upstate Jamboree

STOCKADE WORKS

  • Mary Stuart Masterson, Founder & President

  • Beth Davenport, Co-Founder

  • JR Craigmile

  • Cassandra Del Viscio

  • Gabrielle Fialkoff

Board Members

  • Jane Garrity

  • Marie Nachsin

  • Elliot Matz

  • Flo Mitchell-Brown

  • Stephanie Royal

STOCKADE WORKS

  • Luca Ognibene

  • Daphne Rubin Vega

  • Thomas Sadoski

  • Lacey Schwartz Delgado

  • Michael Urie

Advisory Council

  • Hilarie Burton Morgan

  • Lawrie Bird Firestone

  • Patrick Harrison

  • Jeffrey Dean Morgan

STOCKADE WORKS

Staff & Team Members

Susie Sofranko, Executive Director

Beth Davenport, Co-Founder

Colin Fickes, Program Director

Kristina Perez, SWAY Lead (outgoing)

Sarah Reny, Program Manager & SWAY Lead (incoming)

Shirlee Weinrich, Communications