Beth helps women start their own businesses. Meet Beth here!
Tajja is the voice of Cartoon Network’s superhero “Atomic Betty.”
Ary Nunez started practicing martial arts when she was five years old and she hasn’t stopped since. Meet Ary here!
Media Moguls
Media Moguls
Myth or fact: By the time you are 17 years old, you will have absorbed more than 250,000 commercial messages from the media.
If you answered “Fact,” you are absolutely correct! From TV to radio to the internet to magazines and more, it’s no doubt girls are bombarded with complex messages and images from the media each day.
That’s why, every year, Girls Inc. pays tribute to inspiring women in the entertainment industry who are helping our media shape up in ways that are positive for girls and women. Ever wonder how YOU could become the next media mogul?
Check out how these women did it!
WHO: Jenny Bicks
HER JOB: Creator/Executive Producer, Men in Trees
WHAT IT MEANS: Jenny created the TV show, Men in Trees, and as Executive Producer, she oversees ALL of the details, big and small, that bring this show to televisions each week!
JENNY SAYS:
“My career path was very circuitous [a.k.a. roundabout and indirect]—I graduated from college and worked in advertising for five years. I knew all along I wanted to write, but what I didn’t know was that there was anyone who would pay me to write. So I quit and went to Italy, which was the beginning of taking myself out of my comfort zone.
After a while, I came back to New York and tried improv comedy. I then wrote for radio comedy and slowly started to realize that I wanted to write for TV. I wrote sample scripts, got an agent, and then got my first job in 1993 writing for a sitcom.
I moved to Los Angeles and never left! I worked on shows like Dawson’s Creek and Sex and the City. I wrote What a Girl Wants and also wrote and directed the short film Gnome —I keep my fingers in a lot of things.”
WHO: Maria Grasso
Her Job: Senior Vice President, Series Development, Lifetime Television
What It Means: Have you ever watched a television show on Lifetime Television? Chances are, Maria played a major role in creating it!
MARIA SAYS:
“When I graduated from Gettysburg College with a business degree, I did not have a specific career in mind. I did, however, know that I wanted to live in New York City.
Cable boomed during the years I was in college, but I was not an avid viewer. Fortunately, this was not held against me when I applied for and landed a job at MTV Networks. I benefited from the company’s rapid-fire growth and within a few years I was part of a small task force that launched Comedy Central.
After six years at MTV Networks, I was eager for a new adventure and, like many before me, I headed west. Prior to my departure to Los Angeles, I gathered a list of entertainment industry contacts and sent them my resume. Resigning from a job prior to having one was ill-advised, but a healthy dose of optimism and youth prevailed. I spent my mornings rollerblading along the Pacific coast after leaving messages for the contacts who had received my inquiry about a job. Luck was on my side, and within six weeks I was hired as Director of Comedy Development at Universal Studios.
My career trajectory exceeded my expectations. I continue to be inspired and awed by the talented creative community in Hollywood. Developing series based on a writer's personal experience and desire to express a specific point of view is still the favorite aspect of my job. Two years ago I accepted a position at Lifetime, the well-established brand of television for women that was in need of reinvigoration [a.k.a. some new energy]. I applied the same optimism I had when I moved to Los Angeles without a job. Instead of being overwhelmed by the larger task at hand, I focused on finding passion projects whose themes would be relative to women. The out-of-the-gate hit series Army Wives was the result of that process.
I am grateful for the collective experiences that have lead me to where I am today and I look forward to seeing how the path ahead of me unfolds.”
WHO: Sarah Tomassi Lindman
Her Job: Senior Vice President and General Manager, The N
What It Means: Have you ever watched Degrassi: The Next Generation, South of Nowhere, or Beyond the Break? Sarah’s in charge of the day-to-day operations that help The N network bring these shows to the airwaves; she also works on marketing, sales, and online content for the network.
SARAH SAYS:
“I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was a philosophy major in college, with no specific career in mind—I never considered a career in television, but I always loved TV. I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I was 25, when I figured out being on the broadcast side of entertainment was really interesting to me, and since then I have pursued that with more focus.
I think there’s plenty of room for figuring out stuff as you go along—that’s certainly been the story of my life. And just because a subject is not taught in school or is not a traditional career, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t an interesting career in that field—so figure out what you’re excited about, and pursue that.”