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Brown, Codikow, and Shomer	The launch party for POWER UP was held at Ciudad restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, and featured celebrity hosts Suzanne Westenhoefer, Susan Dey, and Judith Light. Our reporter Denise McCanles was on hand to interview some of the VIPs at the event.

A networking organization for gay women in the entertainment industry, Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up (Power Up), had its official launch at Ciudad restaurant in downtown LA. The group will "promote, encourage, and support the visibility of openly gay women in the industry," according to one of the group's co-founders, Stacy Codikow.

The organization was founded by producer/writer Stacy Codikow (Under the Hula Moon, Fatal Instinct, Hollywood Heartbreak), live event and commercial producer Amy Shomer, and publicist/producer K. Pearson Brown (On the Scene Productions).

The trio of founders met while assisting in the production of the 2000 Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards show, an event that hosted more than 2000 attendees, raised more than $1 million and was featured on the E! Entertainment Television special The Stars Come Out.

"We observed the power of positive images of gays in the media, and we realized that there are many successful gay women in all facets of the industry who could benefit from a support system and who were looking for a way to reach out to others coming out in the business," said Codikow.

The group also announced the appointment of its board of directors, which includes: producer Jan Oxenberg (Chicago Hope, Once and Again), director Lee Rose (Truth About Jane, It’s a Girl Thing), producer Andrea Sperling (But I’m a Cheerleader, Prozac Nation), Jehan F. Agrama (President, Bold New World; family business Harmony Gold), director Jamie Babbit (But I’m a Cheerleader, Popular), Marcus Hu (Co-President, Strand Releasing), director Debra Chasnoff (Deadly Deception, Academy Award winner), executive producer Leslie Belzberg (Coming to America, Honey I Shrunk the Kids), Roberta Bennett, Esq. (Partner, Anderson & Bennett) and Bill Melamed.

Power Up will maintain a resume bank, membership directory, host networking events, offer a mentoring program and provide grants for filmmaking. Membership is open to producers, directors, writers, studio execs, actors and any other personnel in the entertainment industry. Activities and membership information will be posted on the group's website, and requests for membership applications can be obtained at joinPOWERup@aol.com or join online PowerUP.