Mount Kisco resident Natasha Caputo, a former vice president of New York City’s tourism marketing organization, NYC & Company, is the new director of Westchester County Tourism and Film.
WM: Why the job switch? This position is the perfect mix of my passion, expertise, and desire to promote where I live. I am excited to build Westchester County’s position as a premier regional destination.
WM: What was your biggest achievement(s) working for NYC tourism? Being part of the post-9/11 NYC rebuilding efforts, including securing new corporate partnerships; launching Paint the Town Red, White & Blue consumer campaign; and expanding Restaurant Week programs.
WM: Did you grow up in Westchester? No, but I did attend high school at Our Lady of Victory Academy in Dobbs Ferry and graduated from Iona College in New Rochelle.
WM: What types of locations are filmmakers commonly looking for in Westchester? Charming towns, parks, the County Courthouse, Rye Playland, and the Westchester County Airport.
WM: Any major actors or directors filming here this month or next? Boardwalk Empire and Pan Am have been filming. Gods Behaving Badly, directed by Marc Turtletaub and starring Christopher Walken, John Turturro, Sharon Stone, Oliver Platt, Edie Falco, and Alicia Silverstone just wrapped up. Also, the independent film Disconnect directed by Henry Alex Rubin (Murderball) and starring Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, Zoolander) and Paula Patton (Precious).
WM: If you had to describe Westchester County in one sentence, what would you say? Westchester is within minutes of New York City, yet you can pick apples, tour a working farm, hike a forest trail, golf, sail on Long Island Sound, kayak on the Hudson River, visit an 18th-century historic estate, dine along the waterfront, or listen to an outdoor concert.
