Press Play Productions a private company categorized under Motion Picture Producers and Studios, located in New York, was founded and created by young entrepreneur Jenna Arnold.
Jenna was inspired after a trip to Mexico when she was just 13 when the bus she was in had to stop abruptly because a man in a wheelchair was passing by, there was no platform available for the man to go easily on. Touched by this she thought why anyone had not done something about it yet it seemed simple enough to do.
She then developed the interest to reach all people and educate them about social welfare of people in less developed countries. She knew that the only way she could reach a large number of people with her message was through media at the same time she needed the flexibility of her own company to produce things how she wanted. She then joined university where she enrolled in media classes and upon graduation went to work with the UN.
After working in the education system and the United Nations Jenna started her own company, Press Play Productions. The company focuses on developing innovative multi-platform content to inspire global awareness among youth and their participation in social causes. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and the Middle East, Press Play reaches this key audience through educational and entertaining film, television, online programs and academic material that bridges the gap between the classroom and pop culture.
This attitude is what led her to success on numerous projects most notably “Exiled” which was sold to MTV and is now airing in over 100 countries.
In the Summer of 2008 Arnold produced and assisted in the development of the first Dubai Documentary Film Festival: Pulling Focus. The symposium provided young filmmakers from the region the skills and tools required to tell their stories through a documentary lens. In addition, Arnold was the youngest American to work at the United Nations serving as a Media and Education Specialist where she created multi-platform programming that co-branded the UN with Fortune 500 companies, reputable celebrities and international institutions.
While at the UN, Arnold was a Producer for the Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life, an MTV program that focused on the lack of accessible and safe drinking water around the world. She also brought the celebrity- studded What’s Going On? Showtime network series into classrooms making it the second best-selling education product nationwide. Arnold has extensive world knowledge having taught in 13 countries and authored 15 different curricula about global topics. She graduated top of her class from the University of Miami with an honors degree in Education and Astro-Physics. She received a Masters in Education from Columbia University with a focus on developing education systems in post conflict and emerging conflict regions.
Her advice to young entrepreneurs, ‘Do something that has not been done yet. You can sit there and say I’ll make a TV show or something. but what is the next twitter? It’s a crazy idea but you have to set yourself up for success.’
Written by Christine Maema
How to be a Social Entrepreneur: Make Money and Change the World
