Peabody adds to Board of Directors; names David Kramer to Chair of West Coast Board

Peabody announced that it has added several new members to its Board of Directors, including Grady College alumnus and Board of Trust member Jamie Waldron (ABJ ’88). Additionally, another Grady College alumnus, David Kramer (ABJ ’90), has been elevated to Chair of the West Coast Board of Directors, replacing Bruce M. Ramer.

Karey Burke, Kathryn Busby, Nicole Clemens and Waldron have been named to the Peabody West Coast Board of Directors and Ali Zalenko to its East Coast Board of Directors. The Peabody Board of Directors is formed by prominent executives from leading media companies and networks. The Board provides expert counsel and stewardship while advancing Peabody’s commitment to outstanding and transformative storytelling.

“We are thrilled to welcome Karey, Kathryn, Nicole, Jamie, and Ali, a remarkably accomplished group of story developers and media strategists, to the Peabody Board of Directors” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody.  “Alongside the rest of our incredible Board members, we know they will leverage their invaluable wisdom and experience to help us champion the powerful stories and emerging voices. We are also grateful for Bruce’s stellar leadership of the West Coast Board and look forward to having David guiding us through our next chapter.”

Launched in 2015, the Board of Directors is separate from the traditional board of jurors that bestow the prestigious Peabody Awards for stories that powerfully reflect the pressing social issues and the vibrant emerging voices of our day. Peabody is based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Comprising an East Coast and West Coast arm, the composition of the Board reflects the diversity of Peabody’s constituencies.

The announcement follows Peabody’s recent appointments of Doug Herzog, Cynthia López, Orwa Nyrabia, Russ Schriefer, Cynthia Tucker, Mark Whitaker, and Andrea Wishom to its Board of Jurors. Wonya Lucas was named as the next chair of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors.

Peabody also recently announced that its annual ceremony, the Peabody Awards, will be held in Los Angeles at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Sunday, June 9, 2024. The announcement marks Peabody’s first in-person ceremony since 2019 and the first time ever in its 84-year history that the Awards will take place in Los Angeles.

About the new members of the Board of Directors

Karey Burke (West Coast Board) is the President of 20th Television, the powerhouse studio behind a diverse slate of award-winning and critically acclaimed programming across multiple platforms. The studio serves as a content engine within the Disney ecosystem, including series currently in production for ABC, Disney+, Freeform, FX, Hulu, National Geographic, Onyx Collective and other outside platforms. As a champion of a more inclusive and collaborative creative environment, Burke was a driving force behind the launch of Walt Disney Television’s Executive Incubator Program, aimed at establishing a pipeline of next-generation executives with a deliberate focus on developing underrepresented talent. At 20th Television, Burke established the studio’s TAG (Twentieth Action Group), organizing meaningful events for employees to amplify the studio’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion internally and externally with partner organizations. Since becoming president of 20th Television in December 2020, the studio has produced a wide range of breakout hits, including Percy Jackson and The Olympians, Abbott Elementary, Not Dead Yet, Will Trent, The Last Thing He Told Me, Only Murders in the Building, Dopesick, How I Met Your Father, The Dropout, American Horror Story, The Old Man, Impeachment: American Crime Story, This Is Us, 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, The Santa Clauses, American Born Chinese, and Genius.

Kathryn Busby (West Coast Board) is President of Original Programming for STARZ. Based in the company’s Santa Monica office, Busby is responsible for leading the programming and development team for the premium streaming platform and delivering on its programming mandate committed to narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences. Prior to joining STARZ, Busby was Executive Vice President of Sony’s TriStar Television where she developed and oversaw premium projects that featured diverse, authentic characters and that championed underrepresented voices. Some of her noteworthy projects include The After Party, starring Tiffany Haddish and Sam Richardson from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, a Malcolm X series based on the novels X: A Novel and The Awakening of Malcolm X from his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz and a series based on Kirstin Chen’s crime novel Counterfeit. Busby previously served as Senior Vice President, Development for Sony Pictures Networks where she developed and produced numerous projects including Absentia – the critically acclaimed series that aired on Amazon for three seasons.

Nicole Clemens (West Coast Board) is the President of Paramount Television Studios (PTVS). Paramount Television Studios is a leading content studio, developing and financing a wide range of cutting-edge and entertaining television programs across all media platforms for distribution worldwide. As President of PTVS, Clemens oversees a robust slate of shows for buyers across multiple platforms. Recent PTVS productions include the fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and the second season of the smash hit Reacher, both for Prime Video. Next up from PTVS is The Spiderwick Chronicles, based on the beloved book series, for The Roku Channel, Cross, starring Aldis Hodge, for Prime Video, and three series for Apple TV+:  Taika Waititi’s Time Bandits, Before, starring Billy Crystal, and Murderbot, starring Alexander Skarsgård. Before coming to Paramount, Clemens was a producer at Anonymous Content. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President and Head of Series Development for FX Networks, was a partner and Head of the Motion Picture Literary Department at ICM Partners, ran Rod Holcomb Productions and was a television executive at Spelling Television.

David Kramer (West Coast Board Chair) is the President of UTA, where he guides the company’s day-to-day business and helps shape its strategic growth. In 2022, he led UTA’s acquisition of top UK literary and talent agency Curtis Brown Group and helped bring in global private equity firm EQT as UTA’s largest outside investor. Beginning his career in UTA’s Agent Training Program more than 30 years ago, he oversees some of the company’s key divisions, including motion picture, comedy touring, independent film, publishing, and podcasting, among others. He serves on the board of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the advisory board of the Peabody Awards, and the Board of Directors of Project Angel Food.

Jamie Waldron (West Coast Board) is a Senior Partner at Modern Executive Solutions, and is the Global Head of Sports, Media & Entertainment Practice. Based in Los Angeles, Jamie is a standout search and consulting professional whose unrivaled network helps unlock transformational talent for clients who live at the forefront of the converging industries of media, entertainment, sports and technology.  Prior to joining Modern, Jamie was Managing Partner, Global Head of Media & Entertainment Practice at SRI. He gained his unparalleled domain expertise through a career in media and entertainment that includes being a TV Packaging Agent at Creative Artists Agency, EVP Development & Production at Fremantle North America (formerly Pearson), as well as roles with ITC Entertainment and Viacom Productions. He is a graduate of The University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications, and currently sits on the Board of Trust for The Grady College.

Ali Zelenko (East Coast Board) is Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives for NBC News. In this role, she creates and leads efforts to enhance NBC News brands and reach new audiences, such as the first cross-division franchise, Inspiring America and TODAY Climate. In 2021 she led an award-winning campaign for Comcast NBCUniversal promoting the rollout of the covid vaccine to consumers, which helped nearly 10 million people in three languages. Zelenko also oversees partnerships for NBC News Studios, a premium unit that produces documentaries, docuseries and scripted projects. Previously, she served for 7 years as the head of communications and lead spokesperson for NBC News, running all strategic communications and media relations for its units, broadcasts and digital platforms, including TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press and Dateline. Zelenko joined NBC News in September 2013 from Time Inc., where she had served since 2006 as senior vice president of communications for TIME, FORTUNE, Money and CNNMoney.com. She led the annual TIME 100 Gala, one of the most high-profile events in media; and she also managed promotion for key FORTUNE conferences, including the annual Most Powerful Women Summit, and its Global Forum events in Capetown and Chengdu, China.

They will join the following Peabody members of the Board of Directors (in alphabetical order following chair):

West Coast

• David Kramer (Chair), President, United Talent Agency
• Lorrie Bartlett, Co-Head of Talent, Creative Artists Agency
• Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content
• Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group
• Craig Erwich, President, Disney Television Group
• Cliff Gilbert-Lurie, Senior Partner, Ziffren Brittenham LLP
• Alix Jaffe, Executive Vice President of Television, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group
• Charles D. King, Founder & CEO, MACRO Television Studios
• Tilane Jones, President, ARRAY Alliance
• Steve Lafferty, Head of Television and Managing Partner, Creative Artists Agency
• Kristie Macosko Krieger, Film and Television Producer, Amblin Partners
• Andy Patman, Partner and Head of Television Content, A3 Artists Agency
• Bruce M. Ramer, Partner, Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman
• Rick Rosen, Head of Television, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment
• Jennifer Salke, Head, Amazon Studios
• Ted Sarandos, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Netflix
• David Stapf, President, CBS Studios
• Zack Van Amburg, Head of Worldwide Video, Apple

East Coast

• John Huey (Chair), East Coast Peabody Board of Directors
• Katie Couric, Founder, Katie Couric Media
• Maria Cuomo Cole, Founder, Cuomo Cole Productions
• Dave Isay, Founder and President, STORYCORPS
• Paula Kerger, CEO, PBS
• Chris McCarthy, President and CEO – MTV Entertainment Group
• Pat Mitchell, Editorial Director at TEDWomen
• Courteney Monroe, President of National Geographic Global Television Networks
• Sheila Nevins, Head, MTV Documentary Films, MTV Studios
• Michele Norris-Johnson, Host & Executive Producer, Your Mama’s Kitchen Podcast, Washington Post Opinion Columnist, Author, and Founding Director, The Race Card Project
• Soledad O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer, Soledad O’Brien Productions
• Malika Saada Saar, Senior Counsel, Civil and Human Rights, Google
• Connor Schell, CEO and Founder, Words + Pictures; Co-creator of 30 for 30 ESPN series
• Regina K. Scully, Founder and CEO, Artemis Rising Foundation
• Kashif Shaikh, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Pillars Fund
• Neal Shapiro, President and CEO, WNET New York Public Media
• Marcia Smith, President and Co-Founder, Firelight Media

Nominees for the 84th Peabody Awards will be announced in April with the winners announced in May. All nominees must receive a unanimous vote by the Peabody Board of Jurors. The awards ceremony will be produced by Bob Bain Productions.  For more information, visit peabodyawards.com.

The Peabody Awards were founded in 1940 at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and are still based in Athens today. For more information, visit peabodyawards.com to sign up for our newsletter.

Contact: Christine Drayer, cdrayer@uga.edu