Newsletters

Michelle Ray Executive Director Walter Kaitz Foundation Know Yourself Recently, I was honored to receive the ‘Know Yourself Award’ during WICT’s PowerBrokers Awards hosted by the Washington DC/Baltimore Chapter of the organization. It was a particularly special recognition because it spoke to the values I hold dear and which I live every day. For me […]

Michelle Ray Executive Director Walter Kaitz Foundation Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: The Reset During his recent testimony on the state of the television and video marketplace before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, NCTA’s President and CEO, Michael Powell proffered, “we are awash with content of every genre, to satisfy every conceivable preference. […]

Michelle Ray Executive Director Walter Kaitz Foundation Charting the Contributions and Progress of Women in Media and Entertainment During this year’s 91st Annual Academy Awards, women won gold statues in categories where they previously had not made inroads. The progress we witnessed at the Oscars speaks to a larger trend of gains made by women […]

Michelle Ray Executive Director Walter Kaitz Foundation The Power of WE As the Walter Kaitz Foundation begins another year, I am struck by something I heard during a session at this year’s NATPE conference. One of the presenters offered that when hiring he looks for people wearing the ‘WE’ jersey not the ‘ME’ Jersey.” This […]

Michelle Ray Executive Director Walter Kaitz Foundation Looking Back, Looking Forward In Roman mythology Janus is the god of endings, transitions and new beginnings. He is usually depicted as having two faces since he looks not only to the future but also to the past. And assuming my new role as Executive Director of the […]

Michelle Ray Executive Director Walter Kaitz Foundation As we enter Diversity Week 2018, the national landscape is much changed. #Metoo, #TimesUp, inclusion riders, inequality in popular films and lack of inclusion in the director’s chair all leave us with a sense that progress is elusive and unattainable. But, as an optimist, I’d offer that the […]

Let’s face it, times have changed. In the 38 years since the founding of the Walter Kaitz Foundation, the collective media and telecommunications industries are nearly unrecognizable as the upstart, scrappy businesses they once were. Just think of where we were nearly four decades ago as a fledging collective trying to command the nation’s attention. […]

A Message from Michelle Ray, Acting Executive Director As the Walter Kaitz Foundation prepares for its 35th Anniversary Fundraising Dinner on October 17, 2018, it is fitting that we take time to reflect on how far our industry has come as it relates to diversity and inclusion, and how we hope to lead as we […]

Hollywood Creative Forum 9.0 Recap The Hollywood Creative Forum 9.0 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles this past February attracted more than 300 creatives for one of the entertainment industry’s premier confabs for creators of color. One of the overarching themes of the conference, reiterated in session after session, was “get in where […]

FEBRUARY 2018 Hollywood Creative Forum 9.0 For the 9th consecutive year, the Hollywood Creative Forum is a must-attend event for content creators of color working towards making an impact in the world of both scripted and unscripted entertainment. With the proliferation of viewing platforms, there is no doubt that high quality content is in demand, […]