The Carter Center Appoints 3 Advisers From the Arts and Entertainment Industry to Help Amplify its Mission

ATLANTA (March 25, 2026) — The Carter Center announced today that it has engaged three members of the arts and entertainment industry to help amplify the Center’s mission to advance peace, health, and well-being.

The advisers are filmmaker, director, and producer Gita Pullapilly, stunt coordinator Don Lee, and artist Sarah Chuldenko Reynolds. For more information about their expertise, bios are listed below.

“Each of these three talented professionals brings a unique lens, decades of experience, and a strong network to help expand the reach of the Center’s work and impact,” said Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander. “We are excited to partner with them as we work to engage new audiences and connect with the public on the issues we care about.”

Gita Pullapilly

Gita Pullapilly is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated filmmaker and author whose work blends sharp social commentary with innovative storytelling. A former television journalist, Pullapilly was named one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch” and received the Gotham Award for “Spotlight on Women Filmmakers.”

For STX Entertainment and Parmount+, Pullapilly co-wrote and co-directed the dark comedy “Queenpins,” one of the most profitable comedies of the past decade and a global Netflix Top 10 hit starring Kristen Bell, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Vince Vaughn and Paul Walter Hauser. She is also developing “Crook County,” a Black List–recognized screenplay starring Jack Quaid about Chicago’s “Operation Greylord,” the largest judicial corruption investigation in U.S. history. She is developing “The Untitled David Armstrong Project,” starring Jeremy Renner and Billy Bob Thornton in collaboration with 101 Studios.

On television, Pullapilly co-directed episodes of “Tulsa King” starring Sylvester Stallone for Paramount+ and “Little America” for Apple TV+. She was selected for the Ryan Murphy Half Initiative for Television Directing, which seeks to create equitable opportunities for women and minorities behind the camera. Her narrative indie drama “Beneath the Harvest Sky” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and Tribeca, while her Emmy-nominated documentary “The Way We Get By” premiered at SXSW, won 18 international festival awards and aired nationally on PBS’s “POV.”

A Presidential Leadership Scholar, Guggenheim Fellow and Fulbright Scholar, Pullapilly holds a degree in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree from Northwestern University. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

Don L. Lee

Don L. Lee is a stunt coordinator, fight coordinator, action designer and action director known for story-driven action built on discipline, precision and safety. Best recognized for his work on Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” (seasons 4–6), Lee helped shape the series’ signature combat style and portrayed Mr. Kesuke Miyagi, the karate master, in Daniel LaRusso’s dream sequence, fighting alongside Ralph Macchio in a rare moment that blended action with emotional storytelling. Since 1994, Lee has led action teams with a reputation for delivering unforgettable sequences without compromising performer safety.

Lee is a 5th-degree black belt in Okinawa Shorin-ryu Shorinkan, a traditional Okinawan karate style, and a 3rd-degree black belt in Kobudo, which signals proficiency in Okinawan weaponry. He began working professionally when he worked with actor William Zabka, from the original “Karate Kid” movie. Decades later, he reunited with Zabka during the production of “Cobra Kai,” which for a time was the fourth most-watched original streaming series on Netflix.

Lee has worked on over 100 films, including such major studio hits as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “Star Trek Beyond,” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” Lee has worked on the stunt teams for a number of hit shows, including “Daredevil” for Netflix, and “Tulsa King” and “Mayor of Kingstown” for Paramount+.

Lee worked as a fight trainer and action specialist in projects with Jennifer Garner, including her action preparation across high-intensity combat choreography. Lee is known for choreography that serves character, emotion, and narrative progression.

Sarah Chuldenko Reynolds

Sarah Chuldenko Reynolds lives and works in Los Angeles. Originally from the Cleveland suburb of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Reynolds graduated cum laude with an MFA in Painting from The New York Academy of Art in New York City, and a BFA in Painting from The Cleveland Institute of Art. She attended The Boston Museum School of Fine Arts and School of The Arts, San Francisco.

Reynolds has been in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York and Melbourne, Australia. In New York, she painted the Elvis/Hulk series for Jeff Koons Studio and worked for Sotheby’s auction house.

Reynolds is a granddaughter of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.
For more information, contact rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org.

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