Georgia Entertainment recently released the names of the 200 Most Influential of Georgia’s Creative Industries. The individuals are highlighted in the bi-annual printed publication – Georgia Entertainment: The Creative Economy Journal. See the digital version. Our 200 Spotlight series showcases many of those that were included.
By Carol Badaracco Padgett, Senior Writer
Maria Guerra-Stoll, President & CEO, PAM Studios
Working on the design of Tyler Perry Studios, the first major film production campus in Georgia, is a lofty gig for a young architect and her design firm. But it’s where Maria Guerra-Stoll, now president and CEO of PAM Studios, cut her teeth in film studio design in 2007.
A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Guerra-Stoll graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a Bachelor of Architecture. She also has two MBE programs from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, focusing on building a high-performing minority business and growing the minority business to scale. In addition, she completed a Leadership Atlanta program and attended the John F. Kennedy University Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership program, focusing on advanced entrepreneurship and reshaping business.
Combining all these acquired skills, Guerra-Stoll is the founder of GSB Architects & Interiors Inc, a successful Atlanta-based, woman-owned architecture firm that has served a number of Fortune 500 clients such as AT&T, Verizon, Wells Fargo, PNC, Clorox, Enterprise, and Tyler Perry Studios, of course.
“With GSB Architects & Interiors Inc., we were one of the first pioneers of the purpose-built sound stages, backlots, and studios campus components in Georgia. We get calls all the time to provide advice as to how to design or detail certain problems that arise in the new studio campuses or sound stages,” Guerra-Stoll says.
In 2015, she joined the film industry in full force, founding PAM Studios LLC (Playa Azul Media), a multi-platform company based in Rome, Georgia. Through the studio, Guerra-Stoll has devoted her energy to the Hispanic community, to women, and to leading in the development of film, television, and streaming products that are inspiring young Latinos to dream big and change global stereotypes.
Georgia, too, is an entertainment force that Guerra-Stoll actively celebrates and works to advance.
“We have an amazing amount of talent spread all over the state, with untold stories, and the great majority [is]untapped — that’s like gold!” Guerra-Stoll says.
“Besides the amazing tax incentives, the number of studios and backlots, our natural backdrops, together with the film offices and learning institutions [helps]create a self-sustainable industry,” she adds.
When asked what she loves most about the Peach State, Guerra-Stoll says, “The diversity. The vastness and variety of its beautiful landscapes … from the coastal plains and beaches to the farmlands, the mountains with its rivers, the wineries, and we even have a small ‘Grand Canyon and a western town.’ On top of that we have charming rural towns and the big ATL Of course, I also love its people — very diverse. We have everything.”
Guerra-Stoll works to fortify Georgia’s assets by serving as an executive board member of the Latin American Chamber. She is also a former chairman of the board of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a former board member of the Georgia Latino Film Festival, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Habitat for Humanity, and the YWCA. She has been featured in Georgia Trend Magazine, Atlanta Woman Magazine, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She has also been featured on 11 Alive, Telemundo’s Mujeres Emprendedoras, Univision, and Soledad O’Brien’s Matter of Fact, and others.
In terms of associations, she is certified with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and serves the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Latin American Chamber of Commerce, Women in Film & Television Atlanta (WIFTA), Atlanta Film Society, and Rome Floyd Chamber of Commerce.
When it comes to mentors, Guerra-Stoll notes there are many – a team of people. Among them, her family in South America.
“My parents were my first mentors, they instilled in me great values and provided me with insights on how to run a business and how to help people. My mother was a college graduate and a business owner. My father was the creative one. I believe I share his traits there. I was in awe of my uncles. They were all like fathers to me, very caring and very much making sure we were all going to be successful.”
She adds, “[An uncle] was in the arts, music, and entertainment industry back home. I followed his footsteps and became an architect like him, and my grandmother was always allowing me to be creative … designing sceneries so we could all dance, sing, and play.”
Guerra-Stoll credits many mentors in the architectural world, as well, including Janice Wittschiebe, “a pioneer,” and Maria “Tina” Rosinni.
“[The are] women I admired [who]owned their own practice. I followed their footsteps and opened up my own practice. I had to because I reached the glass ceiling and these women proved to me that it was possible to be a woman-owned architectural firm and be successful in a man’s world, and I thank them for that,” she notes.
And of course, Guerra-Stoll has learned from many in the film and entertainment industry over the years.
“Tyler Perry is my inspiration. I am so proud of what he has done to the community and it inspired me to do the same to mine in the industry,” she says.
