A long-time advocate for women and girls, Geena Davis is the founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

Earning the 2006 Golden Globe Award, Davis broke ground in her portrayal of the first female President of the United States in ABC's hit show "Commander in Chief." She also earned an Academy Award in 1989 for her role in Lawrence Kasdan's "The Accidental Tourist."

Davis was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance as Thelma in Ridley Scott's "Thelma and Louise," in which she co-starred with Susan Sarandon. She received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for her portrayals of a political speech writer in "Speechless," a film which she also co-produced, and as a baseball phenomenon in "A League of Their Own."

Davis, a member of the genius society Mensa, is also a trustee of the Women's Sports Foundation, and supports Title IX and girls' participation in sports.

Madeline Di Nonno is the Executive Director of See Jane and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.  She brings over 25 years experience in media, marketing and business development in the entertainment, digital media and consumer packaged goods industries. Madeline has held executive management positions including Executive Vice President and GM for Nielsen EDI, Senior Vice President Worldwide Marketing at Anchor Bay Entertainment, and served as a founding executive of the Hallmark Channel as Senior Vice President, Marketing Alliances and New Media. She also spent eight years at Universal Studios Home Video as Vice President, Strategic Marketing where she pioneered Universal’s DVD launch and digital media initiatives. Madeline began her career at ABC Television Network in corporate publicity.

Madeline holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Boston University.

Brown Johnson is President, Animation, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. Johnson spearheads development and production for all animated programming across Nickelodeon, the largest provider of television animation in the US, while continuing to oversee development and production for all preschool programming.

In addition to supervising the creative direction of contemporary classics such as SpongeBob Squarepants, The Fairly OddParents and Nick’s latest hit Back At The Barnyard, Johnson is the driving force in shepherding upcoming Nicktoon series The Mighty B! starring Amy Poehler and The Penguins of Madagascar in partnership with DreamWorks SKG.  She supervises creative executive teams on both the East and West Coasts, managing the creative direction and coordination efforts between series production, on-air promotions, marketing and consumer products.

Johnson is a 20-year Nickelodeon veteran and has been the driving force behind Nickelodeon Preschool and the success of the number-one preschool brand Nick Jr. Her creative leadership nurtured and grew groundbreaking properties for Nick Jr., including Blue’s Clues, Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets!, Yo Gabba Gabba! and most recently, Ni Hao, Kai-lan. Johnson spearheads all preschool content across Nickelodeon networks, including Nick Jr., Nickelodeon’s programming block dedicated to preschoolers seen over 96 million homes, and NOGGIN, Nickelodeon’s commercial-free digital educational network for preschoolers seen in 64 million homes.

Johnson’s vision, leadership and brand strategy have made Nick Jr. the number-one brand for preschoolers, spawning multiple businesses for Nickelodeon including an extensive consumer products line, Nick Jr. Magazine and nickjr.com. As General Manager of NOGGIN, her leadership has driven double-digit ratings growth for the digital network which recently expanded from 12-hours into a 24-hour preschool network. NOGGIN will offer more of the network’s award-winning, quality, educational children’s programming, including original series Jack’s Big Music Show, Obie award-winning The Upside Down Show, Pinky Dinky Doo and Oobi.

Johnson joined Nickelodeon in 1988 as Executive in Charge of Production and in 1989 was promoted to Vice President, Production for Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, where she oversaw all Nickelodeon production, production management, talent and Nickelodeon Studios' production staff in Florida. Under her auspices, series such as Clarissa Explains It All, Roundhouse, Hey Dude, and Wild & Crazy Kids were produced and contributed to Nickelodeon's standing as one of the world’s leading producers of kids' programming. At this time, Johnson assembled a Nick Jr. advisory board of child development experts, with whom Nickelodeon works to develop Nick Jr. programming and ancillary businesses.

In 1993, she became Vice President/Executive Producer of Nick Jr. Production and Development. Nickelodeon invested more than 30 million dollars in original pre-school television, and Johnson was responsible for launching daily original series in the block including Gullah Gullah Island, Blue’s Clues, Little Bill and Dora the Explorer. She was promoted to Executive Vice President, Nick Jr., in 2001 and has since led the development and production of The Backyardigans, Go, Diego, Go! and The Wonder Pets!

Johnson resides in New York City.

David Kleeman is President of the American Center for Children and Media, an executive roundtable that leads the US industry in developing sustainable and kid-friendly solutions to long-standing issues.

The Center also promotes the exchange of ideas, expertise, and information as a means for building quality, and looks worldwide for best practices. David is Advisory Board Chair to the international children's TV festival, PRIX JEUNESSE, and has led North American advisors to four children's media World Summits.

David is in demand as a strategist, analyst, speaker and advisor to producers, broadcasters and NGOs. In 2002-3, he authored a major study for PBS and the Markle Foundation, on public broadcasting's unique roles for children in the digital era. He has written two book chapters and numerous articles for trade, academic and general press.

David graduated from Harvard. Married, and with two adolescent daughters, he discovered that running offers time with no phones, computers, TV or sibling squabbles. Apparently, he enjoys the quiet: he's run 11 marathons, from Boston to Beijing!

Geraldine Laybourne founded Oxygen Media and has served as its chairman and chief executive officer since its inception. The network was launched in 2000 to fill a void in the television landscape -- creating a network targeted to younger women.

Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women's television with the most unique original programming of all the women's networks including Campus Ladies, Mo'Nique's Fat Chance and Talk Sex with Sue Johanson. Oxygen is the only woman owned and operated cable network. Available in 71 million cable households, the network also owns and operates www.oxygen.com. A pioneer in creating innovative and high-quality television programming for children, Ms. Laybourne spent 16 years at Nickelodeon, taking over the management of the network in 1984.

Under her leadership, Nickelodeon became the top-rated 24-hour cable programming service and won several notable honors, including Emmy, Peabody, CableACE and Parent's Choice awards, among others. Prior to starting Oxygen, Ms. Laybourne was president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks (1996-1998) where she was responsible for overseeing current cable programming for the Walt Disney Company and its ABC subsidiary.

Ms. Laybourne earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Vassar College and a Master of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Pennsylvania. A native of Martinsville, New Jersey, she and her husband Kit have two children and two grandchildren.

As President, Universal Partnerships and Licensing (UP&L), Stephanie Sperber oversees oversees strategic marketing alliances, global digital & traditional licensing and theatrical and home entertainment promotions for Universal Studios. Sperber and Universal Studios created UP&L in 2009 following her tenure as Executive Vice President, Universal Studios Partnerships, a division she formed in 2004 to centralize studiowide marketing partnerships. An entertainment industry leader in the area of corporate partnerships, Sperber has spent the majority of her career connecting marquee entertainment properties and experiences with lifestyle, financial and consumer brands.

Sperber started at Universal Studios in 1996 in the Corporate Marketing Group where she worked on cross-divisional brand development for high-profile franchises including Jurassic Park, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the Universal Monsters properties.

Before joining Universal, Sperber was Executive Director, Marketing at Turner Broadcasting, overseeing the brand marketing for Hanna-Barbera Productions. During her tenure she managed the consumer launches of numerous television shows as well as the re-launches of classic cartoon brands including "The New Adventures of Jonny Quest," "The Flintstones," "Scooby Doo" and "The Jetsons."

Sperber is a member of the board of trustees at The Country School in Los Angeles, is on the advisory board for First Star Children's Rights Advocates, the See Jane organization and the Salk International Council at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a BA in Political Science.

Nina Tassler was named President, CBS Entertainment, in September 2004. She reports directly to Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation.

In her position, Tassler oversees the Network's entertainment programming for prime time, late night and daytime, as well as program development for all genres, including comedy, drama, reality, specials, movies and mini-series.

Previously, as Executive Vice President, Drama Series Development, Tassler developed many of the highest rated and commercially successful dramas on network television, including the "CSI" franchise, "Cold Case" and "NCIS."

In the 2008-2009 season, under Tassler's leadership, CBS was America's most-watched network and the only network to increase its audience in viewers and key demographics.

Since taking over the entertainment division, she has introduced the critically acclaimed comedies "How I Met Your Mother," "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "The Big Bang Theory" and expanded CBS's comedy lineup with the addition of a new Wednesday comedy block. She has also added more successful dramas to CBS's deep programming lineup - including "Criminal Minds," "Ghost Whisperer," "Numb3rs" and "The Mentalist," the Number One new series of the 2008-2009 season.

This season, under Tassler's guidance, CBS introduced the top two new series, "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "The Good Wife"; the comedy "Accidentally On Purpose" and the mid-season reality series "Undercover Boss."

Tassler joined CBS in August 1997 as Vice President, Drama, CBS Productions before serving as Senior Vice President, Drama Development, CBS Entertainment from 1998-2003.

Prior to CBS, Tassler headed drama development for Warner Bros. Television, playing a major role in that company's dominance as the industry's leading supplier of network programming. At Warner Bros., she was instrumental in the development and subsequent success of "ER," "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and "Sisters."

Tassler joined Warner Bros. (then Lorimar Television) in 1990 as Director, Movies and Mini-Series, after serving as Director of Television and Motion Picture Administration for Triad Artists, Inc. She also worked at Triad as a talent agent and was responsible for managing the overall operations of the television talent department.

Tassler was the recipient of a 2005 Imagen Award which recognizes individuals and organizations for their extraordinary contributions to the entertainment industry and celebrates the advancements of Latinos over the past two decades. She currently serves on the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation board of directors.

Tassler is a graduate of Boston University (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater). She began her career assisting in all aspects of running the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, Manhattan's only regional theater.

Loris Kramer Lunsford has been working as an independent producer since 2000 (Kickstart Productions, Inc.), developing and producing projects for film, television and direct-to-DVD. Recent projects include two seasons of Happy Monster Band, a series of shorts for Playhouse Disney, Happily N'ever After 2 for Lionsgate, the critically-acclaimed miniseries, Miracle's Boys, for The N, and a direct-to-DVD series based on several best selling books by Trevor Romain. Loris is currently working on a new series of shorts for Playhouse Disney, Dance-a-Lot Robot, a fourth season of the hit animated series Johnny Test for Cartoon Network and Teletoon, a TV movie with Nickelodeon and a live action, music based series, The Jumpitz. In addition, Loris spent several years consulting for a variety of entertainment clients, including RCN Entertainment, Dentsu, LEGO, Infogrames and others.

Previously, Loris was Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs at Sony Wonder, where she was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Creative department, including acquisitions, development, production and international co-production of children's television and video programming for the global marketplace and oversight of the studio. She served as Executive Producer on numerous projects including animated series Rainbow Fish for HBO Family and Mega Babies for Fox Family, as well as animated feature Lion of Oz for Disney Channel and specials Santa Mouse & the Ratdeer and Little Witch for Fox Family. Other projects included Streetfighter 2: The Animated Movie and the Kathy Smith video line.

Prior to Sony Wonder, Loris was Director of Marketing & Acquisitions, Special Interest Programming for Columbia TriStar Home Video, where she was responsible for the acquisition and marketing supervision of children's and special interest programming on a worldwide basis. Projects included National Geographic, Oscar's Greatest Moments, The Snowman and the American Justice documentary series. In 1985, Loris started her career at SVS Inc., the former home video company owned by Sony Corporation.

Loris is a graduate of Syracuse University. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California with her husband, Kory, daughter Shayna and their three dogs.

As Vice President of Children's Programming for PBS, Linda Simensky collaborates with producers, co-production partners and distributors throughout development, production, post-production and broadcast for existing and new series including Curious George, Dinosaur Train, Super Why, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, Martha Speaks and Sid the Science Kid for PBS KIDS, and FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, WordGirl and The Electric Company for PBS KIDS GO!.

Prior to joining PBS, Simensky was Senior Vice President of Original Animation for Cartoon Network, where she oversaw the development and series production of The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Courage the Cowardly Dog and other major projects. Simensky began her career with a nine-year tenure at Nickelodeon, where she helped build the animation department and launch such popular series as Rugrats, Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Simensky is a past-president of ASIFA-East, and the founder of New York chapter of Women in Animation. She has lectured at numerous colleges and animation festivals, and has taught courses in animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has written for numerous animation publications and has had several essays published in books including "Nickelodeon Nation" and "The Children's Television Community."

Simensky holds a BA in Communications & History from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in Media Ecology from New York University.

Stacy L. Smith (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999) is an Associate Professor of Entertainment at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on childrens responses to mass media portrayals (television, film, video games) of violence, gender and hypersexuality. Dr. Smith has written nearly 50 journal articles and book chapters on content patterns and effects of the media on youth. Her scholarship has appeared in the Journal of Communication, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Communication Research, and Media Psychology. Dr. Smith has also received multiple "top paper" awards for her research from the Instructional Developmental Division of the International Communication Association.

Most recently, she has been assessing portrayals of males and females in childrens media. This body of research informs the work of The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a program started by Academy Award winner Geena Davis. The results from Dr. Smiths research have appeared in a variety of popular media outlets, such as USA Today, The Boston Globe, MSNBC, salon.com, and People.

Franca Virgili (The Cheyenne Group) is an accomplished search consultant who has worked within the Executive Search community for over 20 years. She began her career in executive recruitment in Italy, her native country, where she worked for almost a decade with one of the main local executive search firms, I.C. Interconsult. There she progressed from a researcher role to the position of partner, working primarily with American multi-national corporations and solving their executive recruitment needs throughout the main European countries. This enabled Franca to gain a strong international dimension, developing a special expertise in the execution of "cross-country" search assignments.

In 1994, Franca permanently moved to the United States, opening the Los Angeles office of one of the major executive search firms in the country, TASA Worldwide/Johnson Smith & Knisely. Since then, she has specialized in the Traditional and New Media, Entertainment, Information and Communications industries, working with a broad client base which includes large scale multicultural companies as well as start-ups and portfolio businesses of venture capital and private equity firms. In 1999, Franca was one of the founding partners of The Cheyenne Group. Based in Los Angeles, she concentrates on assignments and working with clients on the West Coast.

Franca holds a Masters Degree in American Literature from the University of Rome and speaks English, Italian and Spanish fluently.

Community Partners acts as a catalyst for community change, civic action and readiness by offering critical support, guidance and training to a range of nonprofit organizations, initiatives, foundations, government agencies and social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for building communities. They work to recognize, invest in and celebrate the critical role individuals and groups play in achieving a just, vibrant civil society.