IRTS Multicultural Career Workshop Panelist Profiles November 12, 2020 CREATING CONTENT — NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT & PRODUCTION CAREERS 2:00 – 3:00 PM KEVIN ABREU Associate Writer/Producer ViacomCBS Kevin Abreu is an experienced television and digital media professional who is committed to creating inclusive, diverse, and inspirational content. Currently, he works with the on-air promotional marketing department at Viacom-CBS. Kevin believes in the importance of diversity and representation on/off the screen, which is why he decided to launch Thee Trio Productions with his business partners Jessica Cooper and Ameer Copper. A production house based in NJ/NYC that focuses on creating highly entertaining, engaging, and empowering content. In the Summer of 2020, he released a YouTube Digital Series titled “Note to: Self” a truth to speak miniseries that allowed participants to give advice and reflect on their younger selves. In the past, he has worked with brands such as MTV, Paramount Network, CNN, CBS, and more. In July 2020, Kevin earned a credit in the musical film and visual album, Black is King, which was directed, written, and executive produced by Beyoncé. Kevin holds a Television & Digital Media degree in Television Production from Montclair State University. *** TJ BOWDEN Social Content/Video Producer ViacomCBS Digital TJ Ali Bowden is a writer, filmmaker and Digital Producer. TJ is currently a Content & Video Producer at ViacomCBS Digital (formerly CBS Interactive). TJ has produced non-fiction pilot TV shows for networks BET Networks, NBC Entertainment, REVOLT TV and most recently VICE Media’s VICELAND network. Among these pilots, TJ has worked with the very best in the non-fiction television industry. Moreover, TJ IRTS Multicultural Career Workshop has produced dozens of hours of digital content for entertainment brands like: NBC Digital, REVOLT TV, ABC News, VICE Media's VICELAND and currently CBS Entertainment (ViacomCBS). TJ was awarded a fellowship in the International Radio and Television Society Summer Fellowship Program in 2014, which catapulted his career in linear television and digital production. A 2019 graduate of CUNY – City College of New York MFA Film program, TJ is embarking on a new fiction storytelling journey. He was awarded BEST SCREENPLAY at Cityvisions Film Festival for his debut short film and was a finalist for the John Singleton EmbarkLA screenwriters grant. His film ‘An American Boy’ has been screened at five national film festivals He resided in New York City for over five years, hails from the south side of Chicago and has recently relocated to Los Angeles, California. *** BRAXTON JONES Sports, News Reporter/Anchor KWCH12 Braxton is a native Wichitan and couldn’t be more elated to return home to his roots. Braxton joins the KWCH News team from THE Kansas State University where he graduated in the spring of 2018 with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Leadership Studies. While in college, Braxton was able to hold a variety of internships including CBS This Morning in New York and the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, where he worked as a production assistant. In addition to internship experience, Braxton worked as an anchor/reporter for the student-run television station, KKSU-TV being featured on both “Channel 8 News” and “MHK All Day”. He was also heavily involved in the community through his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, partnering with the local Boys and Girls Club in Manhattan, KS. Braxton will serve as a Multimedia Journalist to the Wichita area and seeks to inform and inspire through the work he does. When he is not in the newsroom, you can find Braxton hanging out with his family and friends, working out, keeping up with the latest movie craze, or even trying his hand at new recipes in the kitchen. He is a huge sports fan, cheering for the ’Cats, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and his childhood favorite, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Braxton is here for you! Feel free to reach out with story ideas, cool things happening in the community, or even just to say hello! *** 2 IRTS Multicultural Career Workshop TREASURE ROBERTS News Reporter WMBD/WYZZ Treasure Roberts joined the WMBD/WYZZ news team in January of 2019 as a multimedia journalist/photographer. In April, she was promoted to nightside reporter. Since then, she became a fill-in anchor and co-launched the station's first investigative team. Treasure was born and raised in the heart of Detroit, Michigan. She graduated from Michigan State University with her bachelor’s degrees in journalism and in media & information. During her time at MSU, she worked as a reporter for the award-winning, student led newscast, MSU Focal Point. Treasure was also the president of the Epsilon Epsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the MSU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Treasure secured eight internships during her time in school, one of them being a position at NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt in New York. She loves to travel and earned the opportunity to study and intern abroad in India and Cape Town, South Africa. When Treasure is not traveling, she is hanging out with friends, babysitting puppies, taking cool pictures of her food, or binge-watching the newest Netflix series. Treasure is excited to call Central Illinois her new home. You can reach Treasure by following her on Twitter: @TRobertsTV Facebook: @TreasureRobertsTV or by emailing her at [email protected] *** ASHLEY SCHWARTZ-LAVARES Associate Producer ABC News Live Ashley Schwartz-Lavares is a native New Yorker with a passion for video storytelling. She is currently an associate producer at ABC News Live, where she produces packages, shows and live events for the network’s 24/7 digital news livestream. Highlights include 2020 Election coverage, 2018 Midterm Election coverage and reports on the nation’s summer of unrest and the Black Trans Lives Matter movement. She was previously an associate producer at PEOPLE, where she produced studio interviews, stories and packages for the magazine’s streaming show PeopleNow. Schwartz-Lavares was previously the Coordinator of Programming and Production at Townsquare Media, where she produced entertainment videos and helped manage the production workflow for six national music and entertainment brands including, XXL, PopCrush and ScreenCrush. She was also the department assistant of MTV News where she wrote articles on pop culture. Schwartz-Lavares holds a B.S. in Broadcast Journalism from Brooklyn College. *** 3 .