Congratulations, Leaders and Luminaries!

Dear NAMIC Supporter:

Congratulations to the 2017 NAMIC Next Generation Leaders and Luminaries. These emerging business leaders of color in the media and entertainment industry will be recognized for their career successes and commitment to fostering diversity in the workplace at the 31st Annual NAMIC Conference.

Receiving honors as Next Generation Leaders are: Cable MSO - Ebonne Ruffins, VP Local Media Development, Comcast Cable; Cable Programmer - Daniel Eilemberg, President and CCO, Fusion TV; Tech Company/Discipline - Linda Pan, SVP, New Digital Business, AMC Networks; and Creative Discipline - Romina Rosado, SVP and Editor-in-Chief, E! News & Online, NBCUniversal.

Luminaries include: Charlotte Castillo, SVP, International Brand Management & Creative, Viacom International Media Networks; Twyla Huang-DiSimone, VP, News Content Partnerships, Turner Ignite, Turner; P. Sean Gupta, VP, Strategy and Operations, BET Networks; Navin Kamath, VP, Account Management, Global Distribution, HBO; Stephanie Jackson, VP, Ad Sales, Western Region, Food Network & Cooking Channel, Scripps Networks Interactive; Sameel Osuri, SVP, Global Content Operations, Discovery Communications; Miguel Santos, General Manager, Myx TV; Tony Song, VP, Ad Sales, AMC Networks; Holly Tang, Chief Financial Officer, Bravo and Oxygen Media, NBCUniversal; and Janet Han Vissering, SVP, Development & Production, Nat Geo WILD.

As a reminder, if you're a non-member and attend a local NAMIC event, you can join on the spot and receive 10% off your NAMIC membership! Feel free to inquire at your next event. Please also see below for upcoming event registration and program deadlines:

July 27: Register now for NAMIC-New York's "Executive Speed Networking"
July 28: Deadline to nominate a leader for NAMIC's Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) Class XVII. Fellowship opportunity also available.
July 28: Deadline to take advantage of 20% off NAMIC membership renewal discount by logging in and using code 20NAMICRenew2017 at the payment screen
August 17: Register now for NAMIC-New England's "Evening of Entrepreneurship and Media"
August 25: Deadline to volunteer for the 31st Annual NAMIC Conference
September 7: Register now for NAMIC-Philadelphia's "Executive Speed Mentoring 2017"
September 26-27: Register now for the Annual NAMIC Conference, New York, NY
October 25-27: Save the Date for the NAMIC Leadership Seminar, Dallas, TX

Read. Watch. Share. Post. Like. Tweet. Retweet. Attend.

Susan Waldman

Senior Manager, Membership and Publications

NAMIC

In This Issue

LATEST DIVERSITY NEWS

NAMIC Touts 2017 Next Generation Leaders

Multichannel News

NAMIC has tapped four cable executives for its annual Next Generation Leaders Awards: Ebonne Ruffins, vice president of local media development for Comcast Cable in the Cable MSO category; Daniel Eilemberg, president and chief content officer for Fusion TV (Cable Programmer); Linda Pan, senior vice president of new digital business for AMC Networks (Tech Company/Discipline) and Romina Rosado, senior vice president and editor-in-chief, E! News & Online, NBC Universal (Creative Discipline).

TV One Names Michelle Rice Interim General Manager As Brad Siegel Exits As President

Deadline

There's a change at top of the leadership ranks at TV One. Effective immediately, TV One vet Michelle Rice will be the Interim General Manager of the 13-year-old entertainment and lifestyle network targeting Black adults. She succeeds Brad Siegel, who is exiting as President of TV One.

'Girls Trip' Box Office Breaks R-Rated Comedy Curse, Proves Power of Diversity

The Hollywood Reporter

For decades, Hollywood studios have operated on the premise that a film featuring a black cast wouldn't necessarily reach and play to a wider audience.

PROGRAMMING

'Star Trek: Discovery' Cast and Crew: If You Don't Understand Diversity, You Don't Understand 'Star Trek'

Indiewire

The upcoming CBS All Access series is pushing a message that echoes the original series' fundamental values. The cast and producers of "Star Trek: Discovery" have no patience for the backlash they've been getting online over the show's commitment to depicting the universe as a wide and varied place.

Telemundo Pitches Series on Mexican Baseball Player in Japan for Mazda

Broadcasting & Cable

Telemundo is telling the story of a baseball player from Mexico playing in Japan to sell Japanese cars to Hispanic viewers. The NBCUniversal unit has created for client Mazda an eight-episode documentary series called Al Bate! (Batter Up!) that features former Major League Baseball player Ramiro Peña, who is now an infielder for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan.

MULTICULTURAL MARKETING

MiLB launches Hispanic-focused initiative 'Es Divertido Ser Un Fan'

MLB

Minor League Baseball® (MiLB™) today launched Es Divertido Ser Un Fan, a new multicultural fan engagement platform aimed at specifically connecting with Hispanic/Latino baseball fans in 160 markets throughout the U.S. and Canada.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

TV One has named NAMIC Board Chair and ELDP Class XI alumna Michelle Rice as interim general manager following the exit of president Brad Siegel.

Are you a NAMIC Member who was recently promoted? Have you and your team won an award for your efforts in the industry? We want to highlight your achievements. Click here to let us know how you're becoming a mover and shaker.