**BREAKING NEWS**

The WICT Network Announces Honorees for 2025

Women of the Year and Women to Watch 

Awards to be presented during the Signature Awards Luncheon in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 6

Washington, DC (April 2, 2025) – The WICT Network proudly announces the 2025 Women of the Year and Women to Watch honorees, recognizing exceptional leaders from the media, entertainment and technology sectors. These six women exemplify the vision and mission of The WICT Network—to create women leaders who transform the industry.

The 2025 Women of the Year are:

• Jennifer Yohe, SVP and Chief Procurement Officer, Optimum – Woman of the Year, Media
• Elizabeth Wright, EVP and CFO, Direct to Consumer Segment, Paramount Global – Woman of the Year, Entertainment
• Susan Tanamli, CTO & EVP, Head of Global Technology and Media Operations, A+E Global Media – Woman of the Year, Technology

The 2025 Women to Watch are:

• Alison Hellman, SVP & General Manager, Spectrum News – Woman to Watch, Media
• Lauren Morrissey, SVP, Platform Distribution Sales, The Walt Disney Company – Woman to Watch, Entertainment
• Rachel Solomon, SVP, Technical Operations and Engineering, Comcast NBCUniversal – Woman to Watch, Technology

The Woman of the Year Award is The WICT Network’s highest individual honor, awarded to women who have reached the pinnacle of their professions while demonstrating an unwavering commitment to supporting others along their path. The Woman to Watch Award celebrates leaders who have shown extraordinary promise through their accomplishments and dedication to the industry.

The 2025 honorees will be recognized during the Signature Awards Luncheon, held Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the iconic Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. The event is hosted in partnership with the Motion Picture Association.

“We are honored to shine a spotlight on these six extraordinary leaders who embody the values of innovation, mentorship and inclusion,” said Maria E. Brennan, CAE, President & CEO of The WICT Network. “Each of them has made a lasting impact on our industry and serves as a powerful inspiration for women aspiring to lead.”

The WICT Network extends its sincere gratitude to the sponsors and partners who help make this event possible. Special thanks to our Strategic Touchstone Partners: Charter Communications, Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery.

A complete list of past honorees is available here.

MEET THE WOMEN OF THE YEAR

About Jennifer Yohe

Jennifer Yohe serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at Altice USA, where she leads procurement, supply chain, and strategic partnerships, in addition to overseeing inventory management and corporate administrative functions such as real estate. She directs the company's governance process for vendor management—driving quality, excellence, and cost savings across operations. Throughout her 25+ year career, she has held senior roles at Comcast and Time Warner Cable, and served as Chief Operations Officer at DZS, managing procurement, manufacturing, and commercial operations.

Recognized for her exceptional negotiation skills, Jennifer has saved over $1 billion for the companies she’s served. She has been featured 11 times on Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women in Cable and Top Women in Technology lists, and was recently inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers Class of 2024. A dedicated advocate for community engagement, she leads supplier diversity initiatives and supports DE&I efforts through Optimum’s HER Impact Network. Jennifer is a proud graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and has been active with The WICT Network and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Read more...

About Elizabeth Wright

Elizabeth Wright is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Paramount Direct-to-Consumer segment, where she leads global financial strategy for Paramount+ and Pluto TV. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and strategic growth across both streaming platforms.

Before becoming CFO, Elizabeth was SVP of Finance at CBS Interactive, where she managed finance operations, budgeting, KPIs, and new business partnerships. She joined CBS in 2007 following several years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she began her career in public accounting. Her financial leadership has been instrumental in supporting the evolving digital media landscape. Read more...

About Susan Tanamli

Susan Tanamli is Chief Technology Officer, Executive Vice President, and Head of Global Technology and Media Operations at A+E Global Media™, where she leads all enterprise technology, including cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, data analytics, and media operations. Since being named CTO in 2020 and promoted to EVP in 2022, she has driven strategic initiatives that modernize and streamline operations, delivering solutions that evolve alongside business needs.

Susan has held several leadership roles within A+E and the media industry, managing complex technology implementations across content scheduling, rights, sales, and finance. She also led an incubator group focused on innovation, UI/UX design, and change management. A graduate of Boston University and The WICT Network’s Betsy Magness Leadership Institute, Susan is a forward-thinking leader committed to technological excellence and organizational transformation. Read more...

MEET THE WOMEN TO WATCH

About Alison Hellman

Alison Hellman is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Spectrum News, where she oversees operations for 30+ local TV news networks and a team of more than 1,000 journalists nationwide. She also leads key centralized functions including product development, technical operations, analytics, and marketing. Under her leadership, Spectrum News has expanded across new geographies and platforms—including mobile, connected TV, FAST channels like Xumo Play, and Spanish-language content—helping it become the most-watched news network among Spectrum customers in 2024. Alison launched Spectrum News+ in 2023, blending local reporting with national coverage from Spectrum’s D.C. Bureau, a key driver behind establishing new local channels in markets like Maine, Kansas City, and St. Louis. Known for fostering innovation and transparency, she cultivates a culture of continuous learning and growth. Before joining Spectrum, Alison held senior marketing roles at The Madison Square Garden Company and Rainbow Media (now AMC Networks). She is a graduate of George Washington University and lives in New York with her husband and two children. Read more...

About Lauren Morrissey

Lauren Morrissey is Senior Vice President of Platform Distribution Sales at The Walt Disney Company (TWDC). In this role, Lauren negotiates key licensing agreements on behalf of the company across a wide array of media platforms and businesses including domestic multichannel subscription distribution and global direct-to-consumer platforms. Among these substantial high-profile agreements managed by her teams are pay-tv and direct-to-consumer app distribution with digital aggregators, MVPDs, devices, wireless providers, social media applications, and in-home transactional content platforms. She also pursues and negotiates wholesale marketing partnerships for the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming services. Lauren’s current roster of key accounts that she manages on behalf of the company include Charter, Comcast, Roku, Samsung, American Express, and Meta, to name a few. Since joining the company in 2004, Lauren has held positions on the national ad sales, digital distribution, affiliate field sales, and national accounts teams. She began her career in media as a sales associate with book publisher Penguin Group USA. Lauren is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies. Read more...

About Rachel Solomon

Rachel Solomon is Senior Vice President of Tech Ops and Engineering for Comcast’s West Division, overseeing the network's full lifecycle—from engineering and operations to service installation and performance. Her responsibilities include Advanced Engineering, Systems Integration, Technical Operations, and more. Since joining Comcast in 2015, she has held multiple senior roles, including VP of Engineering Operations and Tech Ops for the Midwest Region. Rachel brings more than 25 years of experience, including roles at Verizon and General Dynamics Information Technology. She holds a Ph.D. in Organization and Management, an MBA, and a BA, and is a graduate of both the Tuck Executive Leadership Program and the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute. A board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Rachel lives in Denver with her husband Sam, where they enjoy competing in Ironman events and adventuring outdoors with their two dogs. Read more...

About The WICT Network – Advancing Women in Media, Entertainment & Technology

The WICT Network is a global organization dedicated to developing leaders who drive transformation across our industry. We achieve this through world-class professional development, original research and a dynamic B2B network that empowers our members. The WICT Network highlights the data that shows the strong business case for gender diversity, demonstrating how organizations with diverse workforces achieve higher profitability, greater employee engagement and faster rates of innovation and problem-solving. With nearly 10,000 members across 24 chapters worldwide, WICT is the largest and longest-standing professional association dedicated to advancing and empowering the workforce. Charter Communications, Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery are The WICT Network’s Strategic Touchstone Partners. To learn more about the organization and our research, visit www.wict.org and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn (@WICTHQ).