The Creative Thread Appoints HHF’s Antonio Tijerino as Board Member

OCTOBER 30, 2017 — The Creative Thread Foundation (CTF) – a non-profit organization focused on creating pipelines and opening doors for multicultural representation, diversity, and inclusion in the media, entertainment, and communications industries – today announced its founding Board members, including Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) President & CEO Jose Antonio Tijerino. CTF launched this summer led by FUSION TV along with more than 60 other noteworthy companies, public interest groups, and associations including the HHF.

“As underrepresented communities, it is critical that we are involved in telling our own stories across media and entertainment,” added Jose Antonio Tijerino, President/CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “With a soon-to-be majority minority in the US, it is more important than ever that we content creators are not just consumers. The Hispanic Heritage Foundation has developed creative programs to address this issue as have other organizations, which is why Fusion’s leadership in bringing like-minded organizations together is critical. I’m thrilled to be a part of this important effort as one of the inaugural board members.”

The inaugural Board is comprised of industry experts and forward thinking national leaders poised to provide invaluable counsel and play a significant role in shaping the Foundation’s work. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. will chair the Board, together with Eduardo Soto serving as Vice-Chair and Luis Castro serving as the Interim Executive Director. The inaugural Board includes members from a variety of professional sectors, including non-profit, corporate, industry associations, universities, and public interest groups:

Sarah Hudgins, Senior Manager of U.S. Public Policy at Amazon
John Yang, President & Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Susan Santana, Assistant Vice President of External Affairs at AT&T
John Orlando, EVP Government Relations at CBS Corporation
Antonio Tijerino, President & CEO of Hispanic Heritage Foundation
Megan Hauck, Director of the Interactive Advertising Bureau Education Foundation
John Gibson, Advisor for Inclusion & Multicultural Outreach at Motion Picture Association of America
Marcellus Alexander, Executive Vice President, Television at National Association of Broadcasters
Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder & President of the National Action Network
Benjamin Lopez, Executive Director at National Association of Latino Independent Producers
Felix Sanchez, Chairman & Co-Founder at the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts
Alex Nogales, President & CEO of National Hispanic Media Coalition
Marc Morial, President & CEO of the National Urban League
Loris Taylor, President & CEO of Native Public Media
Joseph Fortson, Vice President, Government Affairs at Nielsen
Kimberly Hulsey, Vice President, Legal & Government Affairs at Scripps Networks Interactive
Rochelle King, Vice President of Design & Insights at Spotify

“With their extensive experience and unique voices, our Board members will help inform and steer the Foundation’s efforts toward greater impact in closing the diversity gap in the media, entertainment, and communications industries,” said Creative Thread Foundation Chair Skip Gates.

The Creative Thread Foundation’s mission centers on four key areas:
Breaking down barriers to entry for underrepresented content creators and those working behind the scenes in the media and entertainment industry;
Creating pipelines and mentorship opportunities for recognizing and promoting talent and projects that reflect America’s diverse reality;
Sharing best practices to allow for better recruitment, retention, and awareness of underrepresented content creators; and
Encouraging coalitions of corporations, industry associations, universities, and public interest groups to work together to provide better opportunities for multicultural content creators and to develop content featuring and representing untold stories of underrepresented groups.

About FUSION TV
FUSION TV, which launched the Creative Thread Foundation with over 60 partners, produces programming that aligns with the interests and values of America’s diverse youth. Earlier this year, FUSION TV made a ground-breaking announcement with the launch of the FUSION Creative Board. The Creative Board brought together passionate, marquee talent to help it identify the next generation of creators and build a pipeline of new talent that is representative of the diversity of our country. This announcement further built on the network’s commitment to delivering enriching and entertaining content that authentically represents today’s America.

About Hispanic Heritage Foundation
The Hispanic Heritage Foundation inspires, prepares and connects Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce to meet America’s needs in priority fields including media & entertainment as well as tech and all STEM fields, entrepreneurship, education among others. For more information on the mission of HHF visit www.hispanicheritage.org.

Media Contact: David Ford / david@thefmg.com / 917-327-6288

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