ARTICLE: NATAS Names Megan Chao, Lindsey Reiser & Angela C. Santomero As New Members To 2025 Board of Directors

[Errol]

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), the organization that oversees the Daytime Emmy Awards, announced today that three new members have joined its 2025 Board of Directors, each representing their respective peer groups in Documentary, News, and Children’s & Family Programming.

Named to the Board on Friday are Megan Chao, a documentarian and journalist; Lindsey Reiser, journalist and anchor for CBS News; and Angela C. Santomero, executive producer and co-creator of the popular children’s series “Blue’s Clues.”

The new members help round out the existing NATAS board, giving every competitive programming category a community representative as detailed last March when NATAS announced it would replace its longstanding Board of Trustees with a new Board of Directors, a change that followed a multi-year restructuring of the Academy’s bylaws and governance to be more representative of the industry communities it served.

Those previously named to the Board were to serve either one, two, or three-year terms, with this year’s new members becoming the first group elected from the new national membership model organized around peer groups. Each new member will serve a full three-year term. Adam Sharp remains NATAS President & CEO.

News of the new board members comes as the organization gears up for “The 3rd Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards” taking place Saturday, March 15 in Los Angeles, “The 46th Annual Sports Emmy Awards” in May, and “The 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards” in June. Earlier this month, it was announced that “The 52nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” would take place in October.

As a reminder, submissions for the Sports Emmy Awards and the News & Documentary Emmy Awards are currently open but will close on Thursday, February 13 and Friday, February 14, respectively. Meanwhile, additional information about each award ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks, the organization noted.

What follows is a breakdown of the 2025 NATAS Board of Directors and their roles:

Eva Basler, Daytime Peer Group

• Basler is Vice President of Communications and Talent Relations in charge of publicity, marketing, social media, talent relations, and special events for Bell-Phillip TV Prods—Inc., which produces the world’s most-watched daytime drama, “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Basler is dedicated to the advancement and success of all aspects of television. An active member of the Television Academy since 2000, she is currently the Governor of Daytime Programming. For NATAS, she represents the Daytime Dramatic Programming community on the National Awards Committee. 

Bob Boden, Unaffiliated Peer Group

• Boden’s career in all forms of non-fiction and unscripted/alternative TV programming has included senior management and production functions for a variety of television studios, networks, and production companies. He is frequently acknowledged as an industry leader in the game and reality genres. Boden served the Television Academy as Governor of the Reality Programming and Daytime Peer Groups for 13 years, in addition to one year on the Executive Committee. He has served on many committees for the TV Academy, including Membership, Activities, Bylaws, Diversity, Creative Arts, and Anti-Proliferation. He currently is a member of the National Awards Committee for NATAS, representing the Daytime Non-Dramatic Programming community. 

Jared Bowen, At-Large Member

• Bowen hosts the daily radio program The Culture Show on 89.7 GBH and is also the Emmy Award-winning Executive Arts Editor at GBH, exploring the creative process through a lively mix of local and national artist profiles, performances and exhibitions. Bowen is a special correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, covering the latest happenings in the region’s theater, art, music, dance and film scenes on GBH’s MorningEdition and Boston Public Radio. He also moderates the Boston Speakers Series at Symphony Hall, facilitating conversations with everyone from world leaders to Oscar-winning actors. 

David Burt, 1st Vice Chair

• Burt is Station Manager for Boston City TV and Boston Kids and Family TV in Boston, Massachusetts. He began his television career as at WPXT in Portland, Maine, working in engineering, master control, production, promotions. He helped create Maine’s first Fox Television Network affiliate, FOX51. In 1991, Burt was appointed Station Promotion Director, where he directed all on-air promotions, station image, outside media planning/buying and managed all activities of the 50,000 member FOX51 Kids Club. He made the move to Boston in 1994 where he worked for a short time as Marketing Director until he was hired by the City of Boston in 1995 as a Videographer/Editor and later became Station Manager of municipal television services. He produced and directed award winning and Emmy nominated programs, including About Health with Jeanne Blake, Commissioners Corner, Mayor’s Game of the Week, Read TV and Seniors Count. In his 25+ years with the Boston/New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), Burt has served as Chapter President and National Trustee, Chair of the Chapter’s Education Committee, National Student Television Coordinator, 2nd Vice President and Awards Chairman. At the National level of NATAS, Burt serves as First Vice Chairman where helps manage the coveted Emmy Awards for Daytime, Sports, News & Documentary, Technology & Engineering and the all-new Children’s & Family Emmy Awards. He prides himself on being a mentor to high school and college students pursuing a career in media through hosting internships, helping create scholarship opportunities on the local and national levels as well as assisting with the NATAS Student Production Awards.

Joan Cartan-Hansen, Chapter Presidents’ Designate

• Cartan-Hansen produces for Outdoor Idaho, Idaho Experience. Her nationally oriented documentaries have aired on the BBC and PBS, and she occasionally reports for The PBS Newshour.  Her longest-lasting effort is as the creator/producer/host of Science Trek (sciencetrek.org). This digital-first project teaches science to elementary-age students and provides support to educators and parents. The site has more than 100 topics and covers the Next Generation standards for elementary-age children. Cartan-Hansen is a past president and trustee of the NATAS Northwest Chapters and past president and current treasurer for the Idaho Press Club. 

Megan Chao, Documentary Peer Group

• Chao is an award-winning documentary producer and picture editor based in Los Angeles, with nearly two decades of experience specializing in documentaries. She is vice president of development and production for Birman Productions, Inc. where she manages a diverse slate, a creative team, and corporate strategy from development through show delivery. Chao is currently the executive producer (showrunner) and editor on two environmental documentary series projects, including Seasons 6 and 7 of “Earth Focus” for PBS SoCal. Prior, Chao was supervising producer and editor on a historical documentary called “Saint Patrick’s Greatest Gift “for CuriosityStream, based on The New York Times bestselling book series, “The Hinges of History,” by late author and historian Thomas Cahill.

André Hepkins, Audit Committee Chair

• Hepkins co-anchors WBAL-TV 11 News at 6:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M. with Deborah Weiner. His anchoring of the Capital Gazette mass shooting and the death of Congressman Elijah Cummings contributed to the station respectively winning Emmy awards in 2019 and 2020. While at KMOV-TV in St. Louis, he earned three Emmy nominations for his reporting and writing. 

Jeremy Hubbard, At-Large Member

• Hubbard is an evening news anchor at KDVR-TV in Denver. He’s also a former ABC News anchor and correspondent, anchoring the network’s national early morning newscasts “World News Now” and “America This Morning.” He also reported for “Good Morning America,” “World News with Diane Sawyer” and “Nightline,” traveling across the country and overseas to cover breaking news, severe weather, the economy and politics for the network. In addition to his work with NATAS, he serves on the board of directors of Shimmering Wings, a non-profit that sends grieving children to Camp Erin Denver, a summer grief camp to help cope with the loss of a parent, sibling or other close family member. He also travels the world with The Greatest Generations Foundation, a veterans charity that returns World War II and Vietnam heroes to the battlefields where they served, from the Pacific Islands to Asia and Europe.

Theresa Johnson, Treasurer

• Johnson is the Vice President of Creative and Partner Services for Recruiting.com and joined the organization in 2005. She has spent much of her career developing employment and job seeker-related content for media outlets across the country. Johnson currently oversees the delivery of the latest recruitment technology and video services designed to help organizations strengthen their employment brand and more effectively attract the right candidates. She is focused on all aspects of employment marketing execution, from brand strategy and recruitment video to copywriting and design. In addition, she manages Strategic Partnerships and has spent much of her career providing various community partners and media outlets with information on the topics of recruitment, employment and job seeker issues.

Martha Kattan, Chapter Council Designate

• Kattan is an accomplished broadcasting executive who has led KXLN-DT Noticias Univision 45, the No. 1-rated Houston news operation, for the past 13 years. She has received many awards, including 12 Regional Lone Star Emmy Awards and DEA’s (Drug Enforcement Administration) recognition for Community Service. In 2002, Kattan joined the newly formed Lone Star Emmy Chapter and was named to the Board of Governors as a representative of Spanish-speaking media for the state of Texas. In 2017, she was inducted into the NATAS Silver Circle in recognition of more than 25 years of exceptional contributions to the broadcast industry. 

Julia Lucas, Secretary

• Lucas is the national secretary for NATAS. She was senior director of marketing for Metropolitan State University of Denver, directing special projects, university communications and establishment of a brand journalism initiative, whose videos were nominated for a Regional Emmy Award. Prior experience includes directing media and public relations at the University of Denver, communications and marketing at On Command Corporation, Your Choice TV which was a subsidiary of Discovery Communications focused on time-shifted television, a national First Amendment education organization, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and PBS.

Ronit Larone, Sports Peer Group

• As Vice President, Executive Producer for the National Football League, Larone leads the production of NFL original Content Marketing and is responsible for NFL Marketing integration across NFL Media’s live network programming. A nine-time Emmy Award winner, Larone’s previous roles with the NFL include Executive Producer of ‘NFL 100’ content strategy & production and Senior Coordinating Producer of NFL Network Studio Production. She also represents the Sports television community on the National Awards Committee.

Michelle McHugh, Chapter Council Designate

• McHugh serves as the Program Director for Drexel University’s Television & Media Management Graduate Program, embodying a rich dual career trajectory that encompasses profound expertise in both the television industry and the realm of multiplatform communication strategy. She has received a prestigious Regional Emmy Award, acknowledging her exceptional coverage of the impact of crime in Philadelphia on the city’s youth and families and is a six-time regional Emmy nominee, 

Terry O’Reilly, Chair

• O’Reilly is President and Chief Executive Officer for Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation, operators of public radio stations 90.5 WESA and 91.3 WYEP, and has served in this position for more than seven years. During his tenure Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting has made significant investments in its NPR News and information service, and has grown to become not just the city’s largest radio newsroom, but Pittsburgh’s most-listened-to radio news service. In 2023, O’Reilly marked his 50th year in broadcasting. He has served in positions in the US and abroad, in journalism, programming, production and executive leadership, with companies that include ABC News, The Weather Channel, Twin Cities Public Television and Westinghouse Broadcasting Company. In addition to his role as CEO of Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting, he serves as Chairman of NATAS. He is a multiple Emmy Award winner himself, having been honored more than two dozen times by the Academy over the course of his career. 

Barbara Williams Perry, 2nd Vice Chair

• Williams Perry is a veteran of 40 years in television news. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Montana School of Journalism, she began her career at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul, where she started on the assignment desk and eventually became a reporter. In October of 1976, she joined WMAQ-TV in Chicago, the NBC owned-and-operated station. As part of the “NewsCenter 5” team, she worked as a general assignment reporter, covering stories ranging from the death of Mayor Richard J. Daley to the first running of the Chicago Marathon. During that time, she broke the story that CDC researchers had found the cause of Legionnaire’s Disease, a bacterial infection that broke out during a convention of the American Legion. In 1979, Williams joined WTTW-TV, Chicago’s PBS station. She worked on the news and public affairs team, producing programs on topics of local and national importance. 

Lindsey Reiser, News Peer Group

• Reiser is an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network’s premier live-streaming news service. She joined CBS News in April 2024 and is based in New York City at the CBS News Broadcast Center. Prior to joining CBS News, Reiser was an anchor and correspondent for MSNBC. She anchored across all news platforms and reported on the nation’s biggest stories, including Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, the COVID-19 pandemic, former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan legal cases, the Alex Murdaugh murder case, the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, and Hurricane Idalia. She has anchored countless hours of breaking news, as well as on location in London and Washington DC. Reiser reported and anchored at KPHO/KTVK in Phoenix, AZ for 8 years, and began her career in El Paso, TX.

Angela Santomero, Children’s Peer Group

• Santomero is the Co-Creator and Executive Producer for 10 innovative brands for kids, including “Blue’s Clues,” “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” and “Princess Penelope’s Purple Purse of Preposterous Things,” and Creator/Host of “Make a Kids’ Show” masterclass. Each of Santomero’s series has won awards and been proven successful in changing the course of media for kids.  She was the first to create the signature “interactive” content model to engage kids to participate and learn through play.  She also started a formal research process that showcased each of the series to be successful for kids on air and in summative and longitudinal studies, proving that kids learned through her media hits. 

Amy Schmelzer, At-Large Member

• Schmelzer serves as the KCCI’s News Operations Manager in Des Moines and has garnered six Regional Emmys. She also serves as a Regional Vice President for the Upper Midwest NATAS Chapter and maintains a connection to the future of the industry by sitting on the national advisory council for the Drake University School of Journalism & Mass Communication.

Jeremiah Slovarp, At-Large Member

• Slovarp started Jereco Studios in 2010, designing his first commercial recording facility in Bozeman, Montana. He currently leads an event production team, entertainment system designers, and AV technicians at Jereco Studios.  He is responsible for producing and engineering Post Production Sound, Live Sound, Music Recording, and Location Sound for shows and events both nationally and regionally. Slovarp earned his first Emmy Award for Audio for his work on the 11th & Grant TV series.

Jessica Snyder, Rules Committee Vice Chair

• Snyder is the Director, Web Systems for WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital, and has over 20 years of experience in building and producing websites on a variety of informational and educational topics for both local and national audiences. She is active on the regional board in the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter. 

David Solomon, Executive Committee Member

• Solomon joined WQED, the PBS station co-founded by Fred Rogers, in 2000. He held various positions throughout the years and oversaw content that included documentaries, series, specials, and multiplatform projects. He led the launch of WQED’s award-winning digital content division. Solomon also serves on NATAS’ National Awards Committee. At the regional level, he has served in various roles for the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, including Trustee, President, and Awards Chair.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy Awards for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime and Children’s & Family programming, as well as achievements in television Technology & Engineering. NATAS membership consists of more than 18,000 broadcast and media professionals represented in 19 regional chapters across the country.

In addition to its awards recognition, the organization has extensive educational programs, including regional student television and its Student Award for Excellence and the National Student Production Awards for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships, publications, and major activities for both industry professionals and the viewing public.

Note: The post NATAS Names Megan Chao, Lindsey Reiser & Angela C. Santomero As New Members To 2025 Board of Directors appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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