• Founder

  • Geena Davis, Founder

    About Geena Davis

    

    A long-time advocate for women and girls, Geena Davis is the founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.
    
    Earning the 2006 Golden Globe Award, Davis broke ground in her portrayal of the first female President of the United States in ABC's hit show "Commander in Chief." She also earned an Academy Award in 1989 for her role in Lawrence Kasdan's "The Accidental Tourist."
    
    Davis was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance as Thelma in Ridley Scott's "Thelma and Louise," in which she co-starred with Susan Sarandon. She received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for her portrayals of a political speech writer in "Speechless," a film which she also co-produced, and as a baseball phenomenon in "A League of Their Own."
    
    Davis, a member of the genius society Mensa, is also a trustee of the Women's Sports Foundation, and supports Title IX and girls' participation in sports.

• Advisors

  • Geraldine Laybourne, Ambassadors' Circle

    About Geraldine Laybourne

    

    Geraldine Laybourne founded Oxygen Media and has served as its chairman and chief executive officer since its inception. The network was launched in 2000 to fill a void in the television landscape -- creating a network targeted to younger women.
    
    Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women's television with the most unique original programming of all the women's networks including Campus Ladies, Mo'Nique's Fat Chance and Talk Sex with Sue Johanson. Oxygen is the only woman owned and operated cable network. Available in 71 million cable households, the network also owns and operates www.oxygen.com. A pioneer in creating innovative and high-quality television programming for children, Ms. Laybourne spent 16 years at Nickelodeon, taking over the management of the network in 1984.
    
    Under her leadership, Nickelodeon became the top-rated 24-hour cable programming service and won several notable honors, including Emmy, Peabody, CableACE and Parent's Choice awards, among others. Prior to starting Oxygen, Ms. Laybourne was president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks (1996-1998) where she was responsible for overseeing current cable programming for the Walt Disney Company and its ABC subsidiary.
    
    Ms. Laybourne earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Vassar College and a Master of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Pennsylvania. A native of Martinsville, New Jersey, she and her husband Kit have two children and two grandchildren.

  • Brown Johnson, Board of Advisors

    About Brown Johnson

    

    Brown Johnson is President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group.  Johnson spearheads development and production for all animated programming across Nickelodeon, the largest provider of television animation in the US, while continuing to oversee development and production for all preschool programming.
    
    In addition to supervising the creative direction of contemporary classics such as SpongeBob Squarepants, The Fairly OddParents and Nick’s latest hit Back At The Barnyard, Johnson is the driving force in shepherding upcoming Nicktoon series The Mighty B! starring Amy Poehler and The Penguins of Madagascar in partnership with DreamWorks SKG.  She supervises creative executive teams on both the East and West Coasts, managing the creative direction and coordination efforts between series production, on-air promotions, marketing and consumer products.
    
    Johnson is a 20-year Nickelodeon veteran and has been the driving force behind Nickelodeon Preschool and the success of the number-one preschool brand Nick Jr.  Her creative leadership nurtured and grew groundbreaking properties for Nick Jr., including Blue’s Clues, Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets!, Yo Gabba Gabba! and most recently, Ni Hao, Kai-lan.  Johnson spearheads all preschool content across Nickelodeon networks, including Nick Jr., Nickelodeon’s programming block dedicated to preschoolers seen over 96 million homes, and NOGGIN, Nickelodeon’s commercial-free digital educational network for preschoolers seen in 64 million homes.
    
    Johnson’s vision, leadership and brand strategy have made Nick Jr. the number-one brand for preschoolers, spawning multiple businesses for Nickelodeon including an extensive consumer products line, Nick Jr. Magazine and nickjr.com.  As General Manager of NOGGIN, her leadership has driven double-digit ratings growth for the digital network which recently expanded from 12-hours into a 24-hour preschool network.  NOGGIN will offer more of the network’s award-winning, quality, educational children’s programming, including original series Jack’s Big Music Show, Obie award-winning The Upside Down Show, Pinky Dinky Doo and Oobi.
    
    Johnson joined Nickelodeon in 1988 as Executive in Charge of Production and in 1989 was promoted to Vice President, Production for Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, where she oversaw all Nickelodeon production, production management, talent and Nickelodeon Studios' production staff in Florida.  Under her auspices, series such as Clarissa Explains It All, Roundhouse, Hey Dude, and Wild & Crazy Kids were produced and contributed to Nickelodeon's standing as one of the world’s leading producers of kids' programming.  At this time, Johnson assembled a Nick Jr. advisory board of child development experts, with whom Nickelodeon works to develop Nick Jr. programming and ancillary businesses.
    
    In 1993, she became Vice President/Executive Producer of Nick Jr. Production and Development. Nickelodeon invested more than 30 million dollars in original pre-school television, and Johnson was responsible for launching daily original series in the block including Gullah Gullah Island, Blue’s Clues, Little Bill and Dora the Explorer.  She was promoted to Executive Vice President, Nick Jr., in 2001 and has since led the development and production of The Backyardigans, Go, Diego, Go! and The Wonder Pets!
    
    Johnson resides in New York City.

  • Lisa Cho Allen, Community Board

    About Lisa Cho Allen

    

    Lisa Cho Allen is President of Lisa Cho Allen & Associates, a Los Angeles-based social marketing firm specializing in raising awareness of social and health issues in the entertainment industry.
    
    During the Clinton and Bush administrations, as Senior Consultant to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Lisa conceptualized and implemented strategic plans for a national campaign directed at members of the television, film, and news media to inform them about depictions of substance abuse and their effects on viewing audiences.  She has ongoing contact with producers of series and motion pictures and serves as a resource for factual information about substance abuse and treatment alternatives.
    
    Last year Lisa worked with Mitroff & Associates,  Ketchum Public Relations, and HHS on Rescue & Restore, a program designed to raise awareness of human trafficking in the United States.  On behalf of Ketchum, Lisa traveled to Mexico city where she developed a workshop for writers of telenovelas..  During the same period Lisa, along with colleagues at UCLA, conducted pro-bono outreach for SAVE, a national suicide prevention program, with the aim of changing the way media report on and depict suicide in entertainment and news stories. 
    
    Additionally, Lisa, along with Deborah Glik, Ph.D. and Rachel Flores of UCLA's Entertainment and Research Group, helped steer the formation of the Entertainment Resource Professionals Association (ERPA).  In 2006 Lisa secured seed money to develop a website for members of ERPA, the non-profit community, and writers looking for accurate information about health and social issues.
    
    Currently, Lisa is Director of the Media Project, a program of Advocates for Youth. The Media Project provides pro bono script review, research, storyline ideas and access to experts in the field of adolescent sexuality to help the entertainment industry incorporate accurate sexual health information and positive sexual health images into video games, television and film production.  She also consults for Fleishman Hillard PR in DC and The Rogers Group in Los Angeles. 
    
    Lisa was formerly the Director of Programs and Project Director at Mediascope and has served in a similar capacity for other organizations based in Hollywood with the mission of educating and informing the entertainment community about the social consequences of their work. 
    
    Before entering the field of media awareness Lisa worked as a producer, writer, and distribution executive.  She is a graduate of UCLA and lives in Hollywood, California with her wonderful son, James, and their pesky Golden Retriever, Luna.

     

     

  • Brenda Chapman, Community Board

    About Brenda Chapman

    

    Brenda Chapman joined Pixar Animation Studios in September 2003 as a senior story artist on the Academy Award^®-nominated feature film Cars.  She is currently working on an upcoming feature film project as the studio’s first-ever female director.
    
    Chapman earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts and went on to start her story and directing career at Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios.  She worked as a story artist on a number of Disney’s most beloved animated films including The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Fantasia/2000. Chapman was the story supervisor on The Lion King, which ultimately became the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time.
    
    After nearly eight years at Disney, Chapman left to help launch a new animation studio – DreamWorks Feature Animation. At DreamWorks, she co-directed the 1998 release The Prince of Egypt, which marked the first time a woman directed an animated feature film for a major Hollywood studio.
    
    Prior to joining Pixar, Chapman worked as a directing and story consultant on various projects in development at DreamWorks, Universal Studios and Sony Animation. 
    
    She currently resides in Northern California with her husband and their daughter.

  • David Kleeman, Community Board

    About David Kleeman

    

    David Kleeman is President of the American Center for Children and Media, an executive roundtable that leads the US industry in developing sustainable and kid-friendly solutions to long-standing issues.
    
    The Center also promotes the exchange of ideas, expertise, and information as a means for building quality, and looks worldwide for best practices. David is Advisory Board Chair to the international children's TV festival, PRIX JEUNESSE, and has led North American advisors to four children's media World Summits.
    
    David is in demand as a strategist, analyst, speaker and advisor to producers, broadcasters and NGOs. In 2002-3, he authored a major study for PBS and the Markle Foundation, on public broadcasting's unique roles for children in the digital era. He has written two book chapters and numerous articles for trade, academic and general press.
    
    David graduated from Harvard. Married, and with two adolescent daughters, he discovered that running offers time with no phones, computers, TV or sibling squabbles. Apparently, he enjoys the quiet: he's run 11 marathons, from Boston to Beijing!

  • Christina Romano Glaubke, Community Board

    About Christina Romano Glaubke

    

    Christina Romano Glaubke is the Director of the Children and the Media Program at Children Now. The Children and the Media Program is dedicated to using research and advocacy to create a healthy media environment for all children. During her tenure at Children Now, Christy has served as the lead researcher on Big Media, Little Kids, the first study to explore the impact of media consolidation on children's programming, as well as the sequel, Big Media, Little Kids 2, which evaluated the effect of duopolies on children's program offerings in eight markets across the country. Christy directed the research for Fair Play? Violence, Gender and Race in Video Games and Fall Colors 2003-04, and has conducted extensive research on and evaluation of the quality of children's educational media.

    Her current policy efforts include working with the Federal Communications Commission and Congress to ensure that the nation's media laws and regulations adequately serve the unique needs of children, specifically with regard to advertising, violence, media ownership, and educational prog ramming. Prior to joining Children Now, Christy worked for the Walt Disney Company, developing products for the feature film, interactive games, and online divisions. Christy earned her B.A. in Communication Studies and M.A. in Educational Psychology from UCLA.

  • Linda Simensky, Community Board

    About Linda Simensky

    

    As Senior Director of Children's Programming for PBS, Linda Simensky collaborates with producers, co-production partners and distributors throughout development, production, post-production and broadcast for existing and new series including Curious George, Super Why and What's the Big Idea? for PBS KIDS, and FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, WordGirl and Nate the Great for PBS KIDS GO!.
    
    Prior to joining PBS, Simensky was Senior Vice President of Original Animation for Cartoon Network, where she oversaw the development and series production of The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Courage the Cowardly Dog and other major projects. Simensky began her career with a nine-year tenure at Nickelodeon, where she helped build the animation department and launch such popular series as Rugrats, Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show.
    
    Simensky is a past-president of ASIFA-East, and the founder of New York chapter of Women in Animation. She has lectured at numerous colleges and animation festivals, and has taught courses in animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has written for numerous animation publications and has had several essays published in books including "Nickelodeon Nation" and "The Children's Television Community."
    
    Simensky holds a BA in Communications & History from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in Media Ecology from New York University.

  • Stacy Smith, PhD, Community Board

    About Stacy Smith

    

    Stacy L. Smith (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999) is an Associate Professor of Entertainment at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on childrens responses to mass media portrayals (television, film, video games) of violence, gender and hypersexuality. Dr. Smith has written nearly 50 journal articles and book chapters on content patterns and effects of the media on youth. Her scholarship has appeared in the Journal of Communication, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Communication Research, and Media Psychology. Dr. Smith has also received multiple "top paper" awards for her research from the Instructional Developmental Division of the International Communication Association.
    
    Most recently, she has been assessing portrayals of males and females in childrens media. This body of research informs the work of The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a program started by Academy Award winner Geena Davis. The results from Dr. Smiths research have appeared in a variety of popular media outlets, such as USA Today, The Boston Globe, MSNBC, salon.com, and People.

  • Doreen Spicer, Community Board

    About Doreen Spicer

    

    In recent achievements, Doreen Spicer developed and wrote the musically- driven film, Jump In-- the first highest rated movie ever on the Disney Channel. Doreen co-developed produced the hit animated series, The Proud Family. Currently, she has adapted her first feature film, Forever My Lady, from the urban Latino novel on Warner Books. Other credits include Hangin with Mr. Cooper, Martin, The Cosbys, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
    
    Doreen Spicer is continuously developing a promising career in family entertainment. She and Spicerack Productions, Inc. are represented by Darrell Miller of Miller & Pliakas in Beverly Hills, CA 310-860-1313.

• Staff

  • Madeline Di Nonno, Executive Director

    About Madeline Di Nonno

    

    Madeline Di Nonno is the Executive Director of See Jane and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.  She brings over 25 years experience in media, marketing and business development in the entertainment, digital media and consumer packaged goods industries. Madeline has held executive management positions including Executive Vice President and GM for Nielsen EDI, Senior Vice President Worldwide Marketing at Anchor Bay Entertainment, and served as a founding executive of the Hallmark Channel as Senior Vice President, Marketing Alliances and New Media. She also spent eight years at Universal Studios Home Video as Vice President, Strategic Marketing where she pioneered Universal’s DVD launch and digital media initiatives. Madeline began her career at ABC Television Network in corporate publicity.
    
    Madeline holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Boston University.

• Fiscal Sponsor

  • Community Partners, Fiscal Sponsor and 501 (c) 3

    About Community Partners

    

    Community Partners acts as a catalyst for community change, civic action and readiness by offering critical support, guidance and training to a range of nonprofit organizations, initiatives, foundations, government agencies and social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for building communities. They work to recognize, invest in and celebrate the critical role individuals and groups play in achieving a just, vibrant civil society.

 
 
"I advocate for high-quality children's content across technologies,
and it's impossible to achieve true excellence if half the audience lacks
its fair share of strong role models."
- David W. Kleeman, President, American Center for Children in Media