Loading

A MESSAGE FROM Executive Director, Jodi Delaney

Jodi Delaney, Television Academy Foundation Executive Director

To say it’s been a long and difficult 16 months is an understatement. Like you, we’ve missed seeing in person our loved ones, our colleagues, our students. We’re grateful for the technology that has kept us close while we are distant, but it’s a poor substitute for the joy we gain from being face to face. As we hold cautious optimism toward a return to the office and the changes the future will bring, our team at the Television Academy Foundation is proud of the programs we’ve been able to provide, and even expand, for our students and alumni. Like everyone, we’ve tapped into deep wells of compassion and resilience, and discovered new ways of being and doing that will stick around long after the pandemic.

Since March of 2020, the Foundation has created 68 new fellowship opportunities for remote learning. In May, we built a three-day College Television Summit featuring educational and professional development sessions with renowned Hollywood producers, executives and talent for students across the country. In November, our annual Faculty Seminar conference for media arts educators, which will be virtual again this year, grew by more than 250% as we looked at ways to reach more educators during the stay-at-home period. In 2021, our numbers served will more than double, thanks to friends and supporters like you.

We recently welcomed a brand new class of summer students, and last month, we hosted another provocative discussion in our Power of TV series, now in its sixth year. This event zeroed in on the urgency for accurate and equal representation in television both in front of and behind the camera. The need for diverse voices and experiences remains central to our programming, and we continue to learn, grow and form new partnerships designed to advance diversity in its truest sense: a pipeline of access, training and opportunity. The Foundation will continue to build on conversations about inclusion and social change, and I’m grateful to our friends, fans and donors for your support of these efforts along the way. I wish you all a joyful return to post-pandemic life.

Bringing Each Her OWN

Tina Perry is the President of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and a member of the Television Academy Foundation Board of Directors.

"We have a predominately Black, female audience...we are programming to the people we are speaking to, and we are speaking to them out of our own experiences." - Oprah Winfrey

Who better to run a network whose core demo is Black women than an executive as sharp on the business side as the creative and who — in the words of Winfrey — “has the lived experience of being Black and female”? Read the full interview with Tina Perry here.

COLLege television summit

The Television Academy Foundation’s inaugural College Television Summit took place in May with the goal of helping to offset pandemic learning losses and inform students about real-time changes in the industry. The Summit provided professional development and career support to college media arts students nationwide, in addition to a dynamic way to meet peers across the country. Accompanied by virtual networking opportunities, sessions included Building a Career in Non-Fiction TV, Amplifying Diverse Voices: #TakeTheLead, 30 Minutes with Emmy®-winning Writer and Executive Producer Craig Mazin, and more.

Power of TV: #RepresentationMAtters

Included in the College Television Summit was a candid discussion with trailblazing content creators and advocates whose groundbreaking work is forging a more inclusive television industry. The Power of TV: #RepresentationMatters included executive producer and writer Steven Canals (POSE); actor, writer and producer Ryan O'Connell (Special); and actress Ashley Park (Emily In Paris) discussing their experience in Television.

Loreen Arbus, Founder of The Loreen Arbus Foundation, presents an award and scholarship at the College Television Awards.

The Power of TV conversation was sponsored by The Loreen Arbus Foundation, which has been a force for inclusion in Television for more than a decade by providing scholarships that empower college television creators to use the medium to tell inclusive, authentic stories.

Welcome Internship Program class of 2021

In June, the Foundation kicked off the 41st year of its prestigious Internship Program with 30 interns and 30 fellows from colleges and universities across the nation. Visit the Television Academy Foundation website to learn all about this incredibly talented group of students.

Interns and fellows will spend the summer gaining hands-on experience and insights directly from television's leading figures, and participate in weekly professional development and enrichment programs. They also join the Foundation's esteemed network of alumni which includes Emmy winners and industry innovators.

Donate Your Vehicle to the Television Academy Foundation

We are excited to offer a new way for you to support the Foundation’s education and preservation programs: we’ve teamed up with Car Easy for a new vehicle donation program. You can claim fair market value for your donation up to the actual sale value. We’ll take care of everything – and it’s completely tax deductible! Vehicle pick-up is free – no matter the condition. And no contact pick-up is available.

When you donate your used car, truck, RV, motorcycle or boat, you are empowering young people to pursue their professional and creative dreams. Make a lasting impact and visit our vehicle donation page today!

Welcome Amani Roland, CHief Advancement Officer

The Television Academy Foundation welcomes its new Chief Advancement Officer, Amani Roland.

Amani brings great experience to the Foundation, having most recently served as head of philanthropy in North America for the University of Edinburgh. Prior to that, she was director of development for the UCLA Institute of American Cultures and played a key role in the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies' signature research project, the Hollywood Diversity Report. In addition, Amani served as major gifts officer at the St. Louis Art Museum for its $145 million capital campaign, and she began her career in television, holding positions at Discovery, PBS and HBO.

You can learn more about Amani and her experience prior to the Television Academy Foundation here.

The Interviews – Yeardley Smith

Nearly five years after the Television Academy Foundation sat down for a three-and-a-half hour interview with Yeardley Smith, The Interviews team spent some time getting caught up with the acclaimed actor in June of this year. Watch the conversation below!