WGA, DGA and Golden Globe nominated writer, director, and producer, Greg Berlanti, is the force behind some of the most inventive and acclaimed works in film and television.
Currently, Berlanti’s company has a record-breaking 16 scripted series, the highest number of shows to air at one time for a tv producer and creator. He works as executive producer and co-creator of The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Stargirl, Titans, and You. Additionally, Berlanti serves as executive producer on The Flight Attendant (Golden Globe nominated), Superman & Lois, Riverdale, All American, Doom Patrol, Batwoman and Prodigal Son, as well as the upcoming Green Lantern, Kung Fu, and Strange Adventures.
He began his career in television as a staff writer on the hit show Dawson’s Creek and became an executive producer and showrunner of the series after only one year on staff. Since then, Berlanti has served as creator, writer, and producer behind several of the most creative and lauded television series in history including WB’s Everwood and Jack & Bobby, ABC’s Brothers & Sisters, Eli Stone (for which he was nominated for a WGA award), and Dirty, Sexy, Money, and the USA Network’s mini-series Political Animals (for which he was nominated for a WGA, DGA and Golden Globe award).
Berlanti made his film directorial debut in 2000 with The Broken Hearts Club. His most recent feature directorial project is the critically acclaimed Love, Simon, an adaptation of the celebrated YA novel Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. He also directed Life as We Know It, and most recently produced Unpregnant for HBO Max. Upcoming feature projects include Free Guy, My Policeman, Moonshot, and the Untitled Rock Hudson Biopic.
He currently resides in Los Angeles with his husband and two children.
Albert Cheng Amazon Studios/HRTS Board Member
Albert Cheng is Chief Operating Officer and Co-Head of Television at Amazon Studios. As COO of the Studio, he leads studio teams responsible for programming and audience development, TV and feature film music, consumer insights research, technology and applications. As Co-Head of Television, both he and Vernon Sanders lead a team responsible for television creative development, business affairs, casting and production/post-production. Since its inception in 2010, Amazon Studios produces Emmy-winning and nominated shows including Carnival Row, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Modern Love, and Homecoming; Golden Globe winner The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel andEmmy award winner Fleabag.
Prior to Amazon Studios, Cheng was an executive at The Walt Disney Company for fifteen years in a number of roles. His most recent position was as Executive Vice President, Digital Media and Chief Product Officer for Disney/ABC Television Group, where he was charged with general management and strategic oversight of digital media for ABC Entertainment, Oscars Digital, ABC News, ABC Daytime, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Jr and SOAPnet. He led a team that oversaw product development, marketing and operations for the Group’s digital media content platforms, including video-on-demand, broadband, web-based and mobile platforms, as well as interactive television technologies. During that time, years before Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, Cheng and his team were the first in history to put TV episodes on iTunes in 2005, stream top broadcast shows online in 2006, stream in HD in 2007, first to launch an app on the iPad in 2010, and first to offer live broadcast network feeds in 2013. They won four Primetime Emmys for their work during this period of time.
Cheng has also held executive positions at Fox and board roles at BMI and Lifetime and was a strategy consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Cheng earned a Bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Tara Duncan Freeform/HRTS Board Member
Tara Duncan serves as President, Freeform. Freeform is Walt Disney Television’s young adult network, where the force and momentum of its audience drives its quest for authentic, groundbreaking original series. She joined the network from her overall deal at Hulu, where she curated a strong slate of projects, including an adaption of Zakiya Dalila Harris’ acclaimed novel, “The Other Black Girl,” which she won in a highly competitive bidding war. Before joining Hulu, she was a senior creative executive at Netflix overseeing the hit series “Orange Is the New Black” and “Narcos,” and launching series with directors Spike Lee, Baz Luhrmann, The Wachowskis and Justin Simien. Prior to that, she produced the pilot “Bosch,” Amazon’s first drama series, and was a key creative executive at AMC, developing “The Killing,” “Rubicon,” and the sci-fi miniseries “The Prisoner.” She is a founding member of Who’s In The Room, an executive mentorship program created to diversify the executive and leadership ranks in the entertainment industry. Duncan started her career at Section Eight, George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh’s production company, where she worked on the HBO series “Unscripted” and the Oscar-nominated film “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Robin Roberts Co-Anchor Good Morning America/President, Rock’n Robin Productions
Robin Roberts is co-anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Under her leadership, the broadcast has won numerous Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program and the 2017 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Daytime TV Hosting Team.
Roberts has been honored with the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame as well as the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and named one of Glamour’s Women of the Year. She was voted the “Most Trusted Person on Television” by a Reader’s Digest poll in 2013.
Roberts founded her own production company, Rock’n Robin Productions, which creates original broadcast and digital programming for ABC and other networks, ranging from informational shows and documentaries, to live special events.
Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2007, and five years later, she was diagnosed with MDS. Roberts underwent a bone marrow transplant, her sister Sally-Ann was a perfect match. Her story triggered an outpouring of support from across the nation. She joined forces with Be the Match to inform the public about the need for more donors, and since her diagnosis, the bone marrow registry has seen a tremendous increase.
Her battle has been recognized with awards and honors from organizations around the country, including The Susan G. Komen Foundation and The Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program. Roberts was also honored with a George Foster Peabody Award and Gracie Award. Additionally, Roberts was recognized with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY’s in July 2013 for the strength and courage she has displayed throughout her life and career.
Roberts was named co-anchor of “Good Moring America” in May 2005. She began contributing to the morning program in June 1995, and prior to that, she was a contributor to ESPN as a host on “SportsCenter” and contributing to “NFL PrimeTime.” Roberts has worked in broadcasting for more than 30 years.
Roberts graduated cum laude from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications. She was a standout performer on the women’s basketball team, ending her career as one of the school’s all-time leading scorers and rebounder. In 2012, Roberts was named an inductee to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Roberts is the author of From the Heart: 7 Rules to Live By and her memoir, “Everybody’s Got Something,” in which she tells the story of her battle against a life-threatening illness, learning life’s hardest lessons, and her inspiring return to the GMA anchor desk.
Roberts is a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and currently resides in New York City. Follow Robin on Twitter: @RobinRoberts.
Tanya Saracho
Creator/Showrunner/Director
Tanya Saracho is a playwright and television writer who most recently served as creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the critically-acclaimed series “Vida” on Starz, which earned 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes for its first, second and third seasons.The show, which aired its third and final season on Starz in May 2020, featured all Latinx directors in season one, and all Latina directors in seasons two and three, including Saracho, who made her television directorial debut.The series had an all-Latinx writers room for seasons one and two, and in season three, the room was composed of all Latina writers.
Saracho recently signed an overall deal with Universal Content Productions (UCP), and is establishing a lab and incubator program aimed to nurture, amplify, guide, and empower intersectional Latinx voices.Her television credits include “How to Get Away with Murder,” HBO’s “Looking,” and “Devious Maids.”
Named one of “TV Scribes to Watch” by Variety in 2018, Saracho was honored by the LGBTQ California Legislative Caucus as their 2020 Pride Month Honoree. She received the Rising Star Award at the Outfest Legacy Awards, and was awarded the New Voice Award by Final Draft. “Vida” won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2019, and was nominated for seasons two and three as well. The series was also honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition with the 2019 Impact Award, won the Audience Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, and made its season two premiere as an Official Selection of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.
Saracho was named “Best New Playwright” by Chicago Magazine, and has had plays produced at New York City’s Primary Stages and 2nd Stage, as well as Victory Gardens Theatre, The Denver Theatre Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theater, Teatro Vista, Teatro Luna, Fountain Theater, Clubbed Thumb, NEXT Theater and 16th Street Theater.
Saracho was also named one of nine national Latino “Luminarios” by Café Magazine, and received the first “Revolucionario” Award in Theater by the National Museum of Mexican Art.She is the founder of Teatro Luna (the first all-Latina Theatre Company in the nation, now defunct) as well as the founder of ALTA (Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists). She is currently in development with South Coast Repertory and Two River Theatre.
Saracho was born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, México, and raised along the Texas border, spending the better part of her adult life in Chicago.She currently resides in Los Angeles.
Carlos Watson
Co-Founder & CEO of OZY Media
Entrepreneur and multi-Emmy-winning journalist and TV show host Carlos Watson is the co-founder and CEO of OZY, a multi-platform media company that aims to help curious people see a broader and bolder world.
As an interviewer, Watson has earned praise for his ability to get high-profile guests to open up about a wide range of topics on camera. Throughout his career he has interviewed everyone from world leaders (such as George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Tony Blair) and leading politicos (such as Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton) to business leaders (such as Bill Gates and Mark Cuban), public intellectuals (Ta-Nehisi Coates and Malcolm Gladwell) and figures from sports and popular culture (including Alex Rodriguez, Naomi Campbell and John Legend).
Watson is the host of The Carlos Watson Show, hailed as the fastest-growing talk show in YouTube history, which has featured guests such as Padma Lakshmi, Tomi Lahren, Pete Buttigieg, Baker Mayfield, Gabrielle Union and Caitlyn Jenner.
A son and grandson of teachers, Watson brings a unique perspective given his journey from growing up as one of four Black kids in a humble household on the outskirts of Miami to becoming one of the most prominent leaders of color in the US media industry. Following the murder of George Floyd, Watson penned a letter to OZY subscribers announcing his desire to help “Reset America”, which subsequently went viral and led to the launch of the Carlos Watson Show, a talk show that has been hailed as having one of the most diverse roster of guests in TV history.
Qualifications:
Watson is an Emmy-winning TV host and journalist. A former kindergarten dropout turned Harvard grad and Stanford lawyer, Watson has risen to lead an international media brand as CEO and editor-in-chief. As an entrepreneur, Watson co-founded Achieva College Prep Service in 2002, which he later sold to the Washington Post/Kaplan before founding OZY. He is also one of the youngest members on the board of NPR. Named the “busiest man in media” by LinkedIn and “the best interviewer on TV” by Deadline.
A former contributor on MSNBC and anchor on CNN, he has hosted numerous OZY TV shows for networks including Hulu, Amazon Prime, PBS, BBC Worldwide, A&E, History and the Oprah Winfrey Network, the latter of which won an Emmy in 2020 for Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis. He has also hosted multiple podcasts for OZY.
MODERATOR
Karen Gray Executive Vice President, Human Resources, A+E Networks Group
Karen Gray is Executive Vice President, Human Resources for A+E Networks® Group, which encompasses A&E®, Lifetime®, HISTORY®, Lifetime® Movies, FYI,™ and VICELANDSM. She was named to the role in June 2019 and has oversight of the company’s human resource functions globally, including culture, diversity, inclusion and all people-focused initiatives.
Gray comes to A+E Networks® from Christie’s Inc., where she served the Americas as Senior Vice President, General Counsel from 2008 to 2015; Chief Operations Officer from 2011 to 2016; and most recently, Head of Human Resources.
She brings to the role a unique mix of human resources, legal and business expertise and will serve on the executive management team, reporting directly to A+E Networks Group President Paul Buccieri.
Previously, Gray worked at Reuters as Senior Vice President and Principal Legal Counsel for the company’s business support group. Prior to Reuters, she was an attorney with the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Gray is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard Law School.