Joshua Wethington has been a driving force in Dallas’ production community for years, first joining the Dallas Producers Association (DPA) in 2018 and stepping onto its board in 2020. Now serving as DPA president, he’s focused on expanding the organization’s reach, elevating educational opportunities, and supporting the next generation of production professionals.
In this AdChat DFW interview, Wethington shares his vision for the DPA, the evolving needs of the production community, and how he plans to strengthen connections between creatives, agencies, and students across North Texas.
AdChat DFW: What drew you into DPA leadership and what excites you most about leading it now?
Joshua: After years of attending DPA meetings, then becoming a member in 2018, I joined the board in 2020 to force myself to get more involved, to get to know the leaders in the industry and offer a different perspective. What excites me the most is continuing to grow the DPA as we rapidly approach our jubilee. For the past five years the board of directors has been made up of individuals that are genuinely interested in helping the organization grow and evolve. You can see this not only with our membership numbers, but also the quality of events we put on, our connections with regional and state film commissions, and partnerships with other creative organizations like the American Advertising Federation (AAF), Dallas Creates and Women In Film (WIF) Dallas.
AdChat DFW: What is the DPA’s mission and how must it evolve to remain relevant in the rapidly changing production landscape?
Joshua: The Dallas Producers Association provides promotion, advocacy, education and networking for our membership. We do a fantastic job with networking and offer several events throughout the year for our members to connect with other creative organizations and each other.
While we still do a lot around advocacy supporting the TXMPA, and have been focusing on education since the mid 2010’s. We have intentionally been trying to provide elevated educational experience through workshops and seminars at our Texas Production Expo (TPE)
Some great examples of this are the virtual production workshop we did at Trilogy Studios last fall, an AI workshop we held the day before TPE, and the private screen and Q&A of The Polyphonic Spree Resolution” at the Cosm LED dome theater thanks to the Ft. Worth Film Commission, Red Productions, and Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History. Kelli Ann Pistokache our vice president, is focused on continuing to elevate these educational experiences for our membership and the community.
AdChat DFW: What is the state of the production community and what are its most pressing needs?
Joshua: The production community has continued to change since COVID, and I don’t think it has stopped. It’s true that budgets have gotten smaller across production, marketing, social, and film — but there is hope that the North Texas economy will continue to grow. We have new production facilities opening, SB22 is bringing more work into Texas, and even if you don’t work on television or film projects, that media attention brings more work for everyone.
The DPA has to be in tune with where the industry is going to educate, train, and advocate for our members to thrive in the current world of produc. n, where YouTube is the number one streaming service on CTV’s, vertical content is starting to gain traction in the US, and there is a renewed focus on story telling on all platforms. Everyone is also interested in how AI can be used to speed up and elevate creativity, not replace it.
AdChat DFW: What are your top priorities as president, and what impact do you hope members will gain from your leadership?
Joshua: We are going to send out a comprehensive survey for our members and non-members so we can better understand what they need and plan events that align with that feedback. If you do nothing else, please take 10 minutes to fill out that survey for a chance to win an Amazon gift card.
Another priority for me, and our new Executive Director, Ashton Campbell, is how we can serve students that are currently in RTF and marketing programs in North Texas. They are the future of our industry and the people that will keep this organization going for another 50 years. Ashton is passionate about this.
Also, with the help of our former president, Ian Loomer and TM Television, I want to keep growing the Texas Production Expo so we can start offering educational tracks and bring in keynote speakers.
Finally, I want to gauge interest in creating more chapters of the DPA and lay out a process that we could use one day if it seems viable. We want to serve as many people as possible.
AdChat DFW: How does DPA promote the work of its members and how will you elevate the reputation of your community in the greater production world?
Joshua: Our Speed Networking event, which is coming up on February 17th at AMS Productions, is a great way for members to promote themselves within our local production community.
We also host the Texas Production Expo at the Grapevine Convention Center. It is the largest film, broadcast, and video expo in Texas. It is growing every year, and it elevates our reputation in the greater production community, which helps everyone working in this industry in Texas.
And finally, another one of our key events every year is the DPA Creative Showcase. It has evolved from a small member gathering to a full-blown industry community event where agencies, directors, students, and production professionals can see each other’s work, support each other and catch up. This year it will take place on September 14 at The Texas Theatre. Similar TPE, the Showcase takes a lot of time for a volunteer board to program and produce but it has been a great success since we brought it back in 2024. It is my favorite event to just hang out and talk to everyone.
AdChat DFW: What message do you have for current members and those who may want to join DPA?
Joshua: As for our current members, the board of directors is here to help make this organization what you want and need it to be. When we do surveys, give us your feedback, talk to board members during events, and help the board grow the organization to over five hundred members.
For people that have not joined, know that you do not have to be a producer to join the DPA. You don’t have to live in Dallas to join the DPA. If you want to build your community, have a network of people that can help you grow as a creative or business owner, this organization is for you.
