In this Alumni Spotlight Q&A, Shavonne Wieder '03 shares her journey from UCSB student to Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, where she oversees marketing strategies and audience engagement for major film releases. She reflects on her decision to attend UCSB, drawn by the campus’s natural beauty and the Film Studies program. Shavonne discusses how her studies deepened her understanding of film history, theory, and creative collaboration, shaping her approach to both storytelling and marketing. A proud member of the UCSB Alumni Board of Directors, Shavonne now applies her professional expertise to support the Alumni Association’s mission while mentoring future students. She emphasizes the importance of being your own advocate, building meaningful networks, and fostering collaborative environments—lessons she credits to her time at UCSB and the connections she continues to maintain with fellow alumni.
What initially drew you to UCSB and the Film Studies program?
If I'm very honest, it was the drive up one day when I came from LA to visit a friend while I was thinking about colleges. I took the drive and thought, "Oh, this is beautiful." That really was one of the biggest draws for me.
I knew I wanted to study film, but I was less interested in the production side. I already knew a lot about that growing up—my dad taught film and television acting, directing, and a lot of that kind of stuff—so I kind of already knew how production worked. I was interested to learn a little bit more about a general film background.
When I learned about the program at Santa Barbara, it felt like a perfect fit. Between that, the drive up, seeing the campus, and spending a weekend with a friend who was already a student a year or two ahead of me at the time, I really got a sense of what a student’s weekend was like. All of it was a very good draw.
How did your time at UCSB help prepare you for your career in film and marketing?
I had opportunities at UCSB to be a part of things like the Santa Barbara Film Festival. I was also a reader for the Montecito Picture Company for a while, so I was able to get a sense of how the film industry worked. I learned a lot about different kinds of film and the history behind them. So when I got a chance to move into a studio, I didn’t just have knowledge of how movies are made—I also understood how the studio system worked.
Being required to take courses in areas like art history, helped me understand the background of why things are the way they are in film. I really understood how these different things impacted and connected both the business side and the creative side. Those were all things that have helped me in my career today.
Also, in all honesty, there was an openness at Santa Barbara that I hadn’t experienced before college. Different people, from different environments, all working together. I'd get a lot of that in the companies that I've worked with since, because you have people from a lot of different backgrounds with the same interest, film. It’s a massive field with a lot of different areas to it, but you have to learn how to get along and collaborate.
I also remember taking a film class where we watched a movie, then waited a bit, and watched the same one again. Each week we had to write something very specific—about sight, color, sound, or another element—and then talk about it in class.
Those conversations that we had to have in class with each other, discussing the merits of what we saw or didn't see helped me in marketing because people will see different things than I did. And it's not that they're right or wrong or I'm right, and they were wrong—it’s just kind of connecting how people see things and how people approach it. I thought that was always something really helpful that I've taken with me since.
Can you share some of your favorite memories from your time on campus
My best memories are really about the people I made them with. I had friends I knew before who came with me to Santa Barbara, and then the friends I made once I was there. I think all of my memories were all just about the people that I met, and the experiences we had together, the things that we did in IV.
I worked at Chevys in Goleta—I don’t think it’s there anymore—and a lot of my friends worked there too. We all went to school at UCSB, so there was this really connected community that came from my classes, my program, my job, and the people I lived with.
When you live in IV, it's so different from living in a dorm at other schools.
That has always made it really special to me. Honestly, I think some of my fondest memories are just about the community I built there and the people I got the chance to connect with.
You’re currently serving on the UCSB Alumni Board of Directors. What inspired you to get involved, and what does your role entail?
I have been in a really great career since UC Santa Barbara, and I wanted to figure out how I could take the skills that I've learned in marketing and help provide an outlet for them beyond my day-to-day job.
What organizations can I support that I believe in, that I have a history with and that I'm proud to be a part of? Santa Barbara was definitely one that I'm a proud alumni of. I tell people I went there all the time. I had such a great experience at UCSB.
The classes I took were interesting and fascinating, and the people I met were so strong. I knew I could help the school by using what I know about marketing information—how to get more people to be aware of something happening at the school, how to let people know that this amazing organization, this school exists, and needs constant support in a positive way. What can I do with my skills to do that? And so I knew I wanted to be on the Board. Santa Barbara was an opportunity that approached me and I thought it was a great chance for me to help them market all the things that are making the Alumni Association such a strong entity that didn't exist 25 years ago when I graduated. I wanted to be able to help them grow even more with their mission, to grow and expand, and to ensure that there are opportunities for both, future students and future alumni and I wanted to be able to help with those.
I'm still new to the board, so I don't know all the things that I will be doing just yet. But I know that's the reason that I want to do it. I want to share my stories of the time I got to learn how to be myself in college at a great university. I got an amazing education that I’ve used to this day, and it afforded me a great career. And now I want to take the things I learned from that career and give it back to the school.
After graduating, how did you begin your career journey in the film industry?
I started out in the mail room. A few months after college, I needed a job, and I knew I wanted to work at a studio. I had the opportunity to get into DreamWorks, and my first job was in the mail room. From there, I worked my way up, seeing how a studio works—first at DreamWorks, then at Paramount, and eventually at Universal.
Working in Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, what does a typical day look like for you?
My role now is a lot of problem-solving, genuinely. I work with a team and they're fantastic. They make sure that movies get into your home and that you get a chance to watch them and know that they're available to watch at home. My job is really to make their life easier.
A lot of my day is spent in meetings, but it’s also about being available for my team: to help support them and problem solve with them. A lot of my days are innovating how we do the thing that we do every day but better. I've been putting out movies for almost 20 years now in similar roles to this, to different levels, and movies come out all the time. So how do you do it differently? How do you innovate?
How do you find new outlets? How do you find where people are?
And so a lot of my days are working on trying to find new ways to engage an audience, a lot of meetings, a lot of emails and a lot of calls. But it's really to be there for my team and make sure that not only are they supported—not just in getting our job done, which is getting movies into people’s homes, but also that they can grow and that they too get a chance to feel fulfilled in their careers, and making sure that there's time for everyone to do that too.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned in your career that you wish you knew earlier?
Be your best advocate. A lot of times, people wait for someone else to help them or to speak up for them—we all want that. But the truth is, no one will know what you actually want unless you speak up for yourself.
That doesn’t mean you have to be loud, angry, or the loudest in the room. It just means being your best cheerleader—letting people know the things you’re working on in a positive way. It doesn’t have to come across as bragging; it’s simply about sharing what you’re doing and speaking up when you want something different. It doesn’t always work out, but the key is to try.
The other thing is, learning how to turn a “no” into a “yes.” In business and in life, you’ll hear a lot of no’s for many different reasons. Sometimes it's just figuring out how do you make that “no” a “yes” and why it was a no? The worst thing somebody's gonna tell you is no. So let's figure out how to make that no a yes.
Sometimes it’s about figuring out why the answer was no and how to approach it differently. The worst thing someone can tell you is no—so the question becomes, how do you take that no and find a path to yes?
Is there anything you’d like to share with current UCSB students who are passionate about film or marketing?
Is there anything you’d like to share with current UCSB students who are passionate about film or marketing? If you’re lucky enough to have a passion for something, find a way to do it every day. With film and marketing, there are so many ways to approach it now—we live in a content-driven society.
There's always a way to get somebody to watch something you're proud of, to engage in something that you're making. So try and find that avenue to do it. It may not look the way you think.
It's not always a $50 million blockbuster movie. Sometimes it is the thing that you create with your three friends, that is made just for you guys.
Find other people who are passionate about the same things you are, and connect with them. Build your own network.
Especially in fields like film and marketing, a lot of it is, who are your contacts? Who do you know? And not because that gets you ahead, but it gives you somebody to bounce things off of and to have other people with creative mindsets in your circle. So keep an eye out for people who think like you too, and stay connected with them because they will help you through your journey.
I will give a shout out.
There is somebody that I work with now, his name's Ryan Crego. He is a director of an upcoming movie.
I went to UCSB with him. He and I stayed in touch. He worked at DreamWorks too. He's now working on Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie. It's great because here is somebody who I went to school with, who I've kept in touch with, and he got to direct a movie that I get to help market at home. So having those kinds of connections, those full circle moments, is great. Even if it's outside of the industry you're in, keep in touch with those people who kept your creative juices flowing, those people that ask you the harder questions.
That's who you want to keep.
Not necessarily connected to this, but I will say, there's a great idea somebody gave me years ago about figuring out who's on your own personal board of directors. Who do you go to to ask questions?
Who do you go to when you have to make tough decisions? They're personal, they're professional. What do they look like?
Look at your board of directors and always have an idea of who sits on that board for you. And I think that's super important when you get into marketing. You want to know who you can trust and who you can ask questions to.
When you get into film and developing creative content, you can't be surrounded by “yes” people. You need people that can help you and that can challenge you in a positive way to keep things moving and to be really strong at what you do.
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