EXCLUSIVE: Carmelyn P. Malalis has been appointed as the first Head of Impact at the production company and financier Level Forward, Deadline has learned, bringing with her three decades’ experience working to advance civil and human rights.
Appointed as a member of Level Forward’s Impact Advisory Group in 2023, Malalis will now oversee all aspects of the company’s impact work including impact partnerships, activations, programming and learning workshops, impact measurement, and the Level Forward Impact Advisory Group. She reports to Adrienne Becker, Level Forward’s CEO.
Malalis is the former Chair and Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the agency tasked with combating discrimination and harassment in employment, housing, and public accommodations in New York City. During her tenure, the NYC Human Rights Law was amended over 20 times to expand protections in the City, and the Commission was known for its aggressive law enforcement; creative approaches to education and outreach; collaborative approach with employers, businesses, housing providers, and other government agencies to make policies and practices consistent with human rights laws and values; a strong commitment to restorative justice principles; and outreach to historically underserved and marginalized communities throughout the City.
Prior to her appointment at Level Forward, Malalis was a partner at Outten & Golden LLP, where she co-founded and co-chaired its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workplace Rights Practice Group, among others. While at the firm, she successfully represented employees in negotiations, agency proceedings, and litigation involving claims of sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, disability, and religion.
Malalis also currently sits on the boards of Pregnancy Justice and Stonewall Community Foundation. She has been a frequent speaker and commentator on equity-based leadership, human rights, and issues involving diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has been the recipient of numerous honors for her commitment to championing the rights of women and girls and LGBTQIA, BIPOC, immigrant, and religious communities.
“For most of my career, I have used law and policy – first as a workers’ and civil rights lawyer and litigator, and then as an adjudicator and policymaker – to advance human rights,” Malalis told Deadline. “I am thrilled to be working with the incredibly innovative and dedicated team at Level Forward to add to the tools in my human rights toolbox – creative and thoughtful projects in film, television, and theater – that have the power to make visible marginalized communities and raise awareness of important issues.”
Stated Level Forward’s CEO, Adrienne Becker, “We are just so fortunate that Carmelyn is joining our team, further energizing our ambitions, and helping strategize the for the future. Carmelyn brings formidable experience and success as a fierce advocate for justice and for people long neglected by our established institutions, including entertainment. She has demonstrated a capacity to analyze complex social problems, generate solutions, and execute. Our partnership with Carmelyn will further catalyze Level Forward’s story-driven/impact-minded mission and methods of disrupting storytelling and interrupting dangerous narratives with new creative paradigms, voices, and initiatives.”
Founded in 2018, Level Forward strives to balance artistic vision, social impact, and stakeholder return. Films include the forthcoming Tribeca Jury winner Mountains, Body Parts, The Year Between, The Big Payback, The Assistant, Holler, Rebel Hearts, Topside, You Resemble Me, On the Record, and American Woman. Stage work includes Suffs, How to Dance in Ohio, Parade, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumb Ass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive, Slave Play, What the Constitution Means to Me, Jagged Little Pill, and Oklahoma!.
