Aspect's Alison Sieh Brings Her Virtual Charity Trivia Night to the Trailer Community

Born and raised in Michigan, Alison Sieh has lived in Los Angeles for over 12 years, but she’ll still argue to the death that it’s pop, not soda.

A graduate of Columbia College in Chicago, she got her start in the music industry working in reality TV. In 2013, she made the leap to the trailer industry as a music coordinator and eventual music supervisor at Trailer Park. In 2017, she joined the team at Aspect to lead the music department, where she’s currently the director of music. At Aspect she’s supervised campaigns for major studios, streaming platforms and video games, including Black Widow, How to Train Your Dragon 3, The Conjuring Universe, Orange Is the New Black, Our Planet and Call of Duty.

Alison also proudly serves on the board of the Angeles Chorale, where she’s a seven-year veteran of the choir. She has had the opportunity to sing throughout L.A. at venues such as The Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Microsoft Theater and is looking forward to an upcoming tour in Argentina. Singing professionally has allowed her to hone her musicianship and better her supervision skills.

Alison also served on the Trailers/Teasers jury for the 2020-2021 Clio Music Awards.

When she’s not at her desk or rehearsing, you can find her teaching Bar Method classes or playing flag football.

We spoke with Alison for our Backstory series, where we chat with folks in the entertainment industry about their creative inspirations and more.

Alison, tell us…

Where you were born, and where you live now.

Born and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan. I currently live in Studio City, California. 

Your first job in the industry.

I was an intern under music supervisor Matt Kierscht and music coordinator Tiffany O’Rourke on America’s Next Top Model. I am beyond grateful for their help in getting my foot in the door and teaching me how to do my first cue sheets!

A recent project you’re proud of.

While I have been lucky to work on some amazing trailers throughout the past year, I also started a weekly virtual trivia night on Zoom called Virtual Charity Trivia. We’ve been able to raise money and awareness for some incredible charities and organizations that support our unhoused communities, education for our youth, fighting racial injustice, and more. With the help of my friend and partner in crime Nikole Luebbe Sherman, we’ve been able to build a community of people from across the country looking to stay safe and connected, help others and have fun!

How did Virtual Charity Trivia come about? 

At the start of the pandemic, I was searching for a way to see friends during the safe-at-home orders. I wrote a quarantine-themed trivia game and we had a lot of fun. I decided I could try it as a fundraiser for my choir, the Angeles Chorale, and it was a success! One thing led to another, one week blurred into the next, and we’ve now been meeting on Zoom for nearly 50 weeks and have raised almost $40,000 for over 40 different organizations. This past year has been challenging for everyone and put a much-needed spotlight on the flaws in our government and the areas that need our help and support the most. Virtual Charity Trivia felt like a tiny way that we could be a part of righting some wrongs and getting money into the hands of people in need and the organizations that support them.

What is your mission?

Our mission is simple—to help others and to be kind. Virtual Charity Trivia would like to be a part of positive change, to be a platform of awareness and help people find opportunities to donate, volunteer and connect with their community.

What do you have planned for 2021?

2021 is proving to be quite busy already! As a result of my work with Virtual Charity Trivia, I was nominated to be a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year Campaign. I have built an amazing team called The 100 Club and we have less than 10 weeks to raise $100,100 to support the fight against blood cancer. With the help of my team at Aspect, and dozens of incredible sponsors including Clio Entertainment, I’m organizing an industry-wide Virtual Trailer Trivia Night for Wednesday, May 5.

We’ll have fun trivia, amazing prizes, drawings and incredible entertainment including special performances by Grouplove and Camino. After a year without our typical events, this felt like a great opportunity not only to raise money to support cancer patients, caregivers and their families but also to bring the trailer community together in a unique and positive way.

How can people learn more and get involved?

More information about Virtual Trailer Trivia Night can be found here on our donation and registration page as well as on Facebook. All industry professionals are welcome to join in on a night of virtual trivia, prizes and entertainment. The more people, the more money we’ll be able to raise to kick cancer’s butt! You can follow The 100 Club’s journey to raise over $100,000 on Instagram @the100club_lls. Weekly trivia nights will continue until it’s safe to be in person again. They are every Thursday night on Zoom at 7:30pm PST. More info about VCT can be found on Instagram @virtualcharitytrivia.

One thing about how entertainment marketing is evolving that you’re excited about.

I am excited to see our industry change and acknowledge missteps in how we viewed work-life balance, gender roles, salaries, departmental hierarchy, etc. I am excited to see more opportunities, recognition and respect for women and people of color in entertainment marketing. I am excited to see people being more vocal about their value to this industry and standing up for one another so that together we can push the boundaries of these changes to make a more equitable work environment. We still have a long way to go, but I am looking forward to seeing further growth and I am committed to being a part of this change!