The Power of TV: Producing with Purpose

You're invited to a Public Program of the Television Academy Foundation:

The Power of TV: Producing with Purpose

In this conversation, we will focus on women who are actively changing the industry. We will discuss their business models, inclusion practices within and outside their companies, and explore how high-profile producers create space for historically excluded groups on screen, behind the camera, and successfully advocate for storytelling that builds broader awareness and inclusion.

8:00 AM - 8:45 AM PDT Complimentary Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PDT Panel

Panelists include:

• Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President, Programming, Hallmark Media
• Anya Adams, Director, Producer, Creator
• Carmen Marrón, Director, Producer, Writer

Further panelists to be announced.

Moderated by:

• Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

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This is a public event of the Television Academy Foundation. Television Academy Members and the public are invited to attend. Each individual may reserve one ticket.

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Moderator

Madeline Di Nonno

Madeline Di Nonno is the President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the only global research driven non-profit working within entertainment media to foster diversity and inclusion and impede bias. Di Nonno leads the Institute's strategic direction, fundraising, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, research, and financial activities. Di Nonno is an Executive Producer on the Emmy nominated, Gracie award winning television series Mission Unstoppable and the Gracie award winning feature film This Changes Everything. Di Nonno has served in Executive leadership positions for Hallmark Channel, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Nielsen Entertainment. Di Nonno is a U.S. State Department Speaker Specialist and moderator including: AdWeek, Cannes Lion, Kidscreen, The White House, and the United Nations. Di Nonno has been featured in Ad Age, Fast Company, Glamour, Good Morning America, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair and Variety. Di Nonno holds a bachelor's degree from Boston University. Di Nonno is an appointed Arts Commissioner the Los Angeles County Arts Department and serves on the Board of Directors for the Television Academy Foundation.

Panelists

Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President, Programming, Hallmark Media

Daly is charged with identifying, developing, and creating impactful, top-quality, brand-building content across the company's three linear networks, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama, as well as its SVOD service, Hallmark Movies Now, and AVOD platform, Hallmark Movies & More. Additionally, she is responsible for building on Hallmark Media's programming strategy and diversifying the voice and breadth of the company's talent pool, both in front of and behind the camera. Also central to her oversight is bringing parent company Hallmark's legacy and brand values to life in new ways and translating Hallmark IP into content that serves existing viewers and attracts new audiences across various platforms.

Prior to joining Hallmark Media, Daly served as Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs and Executive Producer at Bedrock Entertainment. In that capacity, she spearheaded all business and creative functions, including oversight of the company's scripted development and production slate in partnership with ITV Studios America. Previously, she was Director of Original Series at Netflix, developing and producing such popular programs as Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias, and Firefly Lane, among others.

Additional industry experience includes a seven-year tenure at A+E Networks, where she was Vice President of Programming, as well as a position at DreamWorks Studios, where she acted as Vice President, Literary & Creative Affairs from 2003-2009.

Daly earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English & American Literature & Language from Harvard University, in addition to a B.A. in English Literature from UCLA, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Daly is based in the company's Studio City offices and reports to President & CEO, Wonya Lucas.

Anya Adams, Director, Producer, Creator

Anya Adams is an award-winning Canadian-American director best known for Black-ish, Ginny & Georgia, A League of Their Own and The Good Place. The Alice Initiative named Adams as one of the top emerging female filmmakers on The Alice List 2020. Winner of the NAACP Image Award 2020 for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for GLOW, Adams has since made her pilot debut directing Netflix Originals' popular coming-of-age drama series Ginny & Georgia as well as completing her first movie for Disney called Prompact.

Adams began her career in the nonprofit sector travelling the world working with global citizen incubator Up With People for several years before transitioning to filmmaking. Following her acceptance into the DGA Trainee Program, the Canadian native from Vancouver, British Columbia relocated to Los Angeles where she trained on the set of such shows as Boomtown and The Practice. As a DGA member, Adams worked on some of the most successful television shows including Black-ish, The Mindy Project, CSI Miami, Community, Scrubs and The West Wing.

In 2016, Adams directed her first short film, Lemonade Mafia, starring Marsai Martin, Yvette Nicole Brown and Ava Acres. Her career catapulted after directing an episode of Black-ish in 2017 and continues to soar.

Carmen Marrón, Writer, Director, Producer

Carmen Marrón is a self-taught writer, director, and producer whose debut Hip Hop feature, "Go For It!" was distributed by Lionsgate in 200 theaters across the US. The movie is based on her experiences growing up as an inner-city street dancer in Chicago. She wrote, directed, edited, cast the actors and co-composed the theme song for her dance drama. Carmen's second film, "Endgame", premiered on HBO.

Filmmaking became an aspiration for Carmen while she was working as a guidance counselor for high-risk elementary school children. Carmen's vision was to write and direct stories for underrepresented voices that her students could relate to and be inspired. "Go For It!" sold out at festivals from coast to coast and won several Audience Awards. The New York Times hailed the movie as "an unpretentious rite-of-passage drama, thanks to the supple script and capable direction of Carmen Marron, the force behind "Go For It!" The movie launched Gina Rodriguez's (Jane The Virgin) film career and was re-released on HBO during the pandemic.

Marrón's second feature that she wrote and directed, Endgame, premiered on HBO. It stars Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) and Justina Machado (One Day At A Time) and was based on true events about struggling middle-school students in Brownsville, Texas.

Carmen made her TV directorial debut on Ava DuVernay's hit series Queen Sugar, on Oprah's OWN Network and was asked back to direct the season six premiere. Shortly after, Carmen wrote a pilot, RX, for ABC Studios, based on her experience as a pharmaceutical rep. She is currently in the process of pitching other pilots, including a dance drama, and a reality series pilot, Win It To List It, that she co-created and directed this year that focuses on overcoming obstacles to own a home. Proceeds will be given to homeless organizations.

In 2023, Carmen will direct a romantic comedy, "Carmen & Boludé," in Australia and Nigeria, that is based on true events about mixed race marriages. Through her own company, Sparkhope Productions, Carmen has focused her career on directing and writing compelling, character-driven stories that advocate for social responsibility towards youth and women. Her work has been distributed by HBO, Warner Bros, Lionsgate, Starz, ABC, Netflix and Showtime.

With a BA of Science (DePaul University) and an MA in Educational Psychology (University of Arizona), Carmen has been an international guest speaker for the US State Department promoting public diplomacy in Latin American countries through her work in Cinema and Education. She currently resides in LA and is a member of the DGA, WGA and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation in DC.