Join Diverse Representation for a virtual roundtable featuring African-American executives in the television, film and digital industries. Panelists will discuss their career paths and best practices for navigating the entertainment industry. They will also discuss the current opportunity landscape for creators of color.
August 13, 2020
4:00 pm PDT/7:00 pm EDT
Ty Cameron is currently the Head of Distribution of Uninterrupted, LLC, a sports media company and athlete empowerment brand. He has worked in this capacity since March 2017 to present day. Prior to joining UNINTERRUPTED, he owned and operated his own talent agency, The CAMERON TALENT AGENCY from 2011 until 2016. During his time running the agency, his company represented sportscasters, reality television personalities and production companies. In addition to running a talent agency, Ty has served as a media sales executive for several national broadcast and cable networks for over 10 years working for companies such as
the CBS Television Network and BET Networks.
A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Cameron holds a Bachelor's degree from Bucknell University along with being a member of their men’s basketball team. He also holds an M.B.A from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. Ty is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and currently resides in Marina Del Rey, California.
Chika Chukudebelu is Vice President, Original Drama Series for HBO Max, where she oversees developing dramatic series programming for the streaming platform.
Most recently, she was Vice President of Development of NBCUniversal’s Universal Content Productions where she was responsible for the development of cable and streaming television series, as well as actively engaging writing, directing and acting talent to mine potential collaboration opportunities for the boutique studio and portfolio of networks, including Peacock, USA, Netflix and Quibi.
Prior to that, Chukudebelu worked at BET Networks where she shaped creative content for scripted series, including “Being Mary Jane” starring Gabrielle Union, “Madiba” starring Laurence Fishburne and the top-rated comedy “The Game.” Chukudebelu also served as Creative Executive at Starbucks Entertainment, overseeing the company’s film and publishing endeavors, including the promotional launch of “The Kite Runner.” She started her entertainment career working in film development at Killer Films and business development at New Line Cinema.
Aaron Edmonds is a Director of Production and Development at Lionsgate in the Motion Picture Group and co-heads Lionsgate’s Multicultural Employee Resource Group. He recently oversaw the development and production of Janelle Monae's feature debut ANTEBELLUM. In 2017 Aaron was selected as a Film Independent Project Involve Executive Track Fellow where he oversaw the development and production of three short films, most notably the award winning short, SUITABLE.
He is currently an advisor for Film Independent's Project Involve Program. Prior to working at Lionsgate, Aaron worked in development at Columbia Pictures. Additionally, he worked in television as a post-production coordinator and while living in New York worked in creative services for HBO.
Aaron holds a Masters from UCLA’s Producers Program at the School of Theater, Film and Television and a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in Political Science and Comparative Ethnic Studies.
Melissa M. Ingram is General Manager for AspireTV, the television network that reflects contemporary black culture and urban lifestyle in programming that is inspiring, authentic and entertaining. Ingram oversees the network’s content, brand and operations, and is responsible for long-term strategy, planning and personnel.
Under Ingram’s leadership, AspireTV has emerged as a premium lifestyle content brand that serves a fast-growing, dynamic audience of black millennials with the promise #SeeYourselfHere. That promise is supported by hit shows like the cooking series Butter + Brown, executive produced by Issa Rae, the interview special Idols, Icons + Influencers, hosted by comedian Chris Spencer, design series Unboxed with Nikki Chu and the network’s expanding web and social footprint.
Ingram joined AspireTV in August 2012 as Senior Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs, and was promoted to Senior Director of Business Affairs and Development in December 2014. In her role as Senior Director, Ingram was successful in executing partnerships with the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (WHI-HBCUs) and launching an unprecedented partnership with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and its member schools to produce original programming, highlighting the rich legacy and history of HBCUs and their students.
In 2013, Ingram was selected as one of Multichannel News’ 40 under 40 industry executives and was also honored in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as one of Cablefax’s “Most Influential Minorities in Cable.” She was also named to the “Who’s Who in Black Atlanta” list in 2017 and was selected to the Cablefax “Most Powerful Women” list in 2018. In addition, Ingram was honored with the WICT SE 2018 Horizon Award for Woman to Watch as well as being the first female recipient of the 2018 SYNERGY Award by the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA).
Ingram joined AspireTV from its sister-network UPtv, where she was Senior Counsel of Business and Legal Affairs, serving as lead counsel and negotiator for programming acquisition agreements. While at UPtv in 2011, Ingram was awarded a scholarship from the Walter Kaitz Foundation and was selected to attend the Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) Rising Leaders Program in San Diego, California.
Before joining UPtv in 2008, Ingram was an associate lawyer with an Atlanta-based boutique entertainment firm, The Carter Law Firm, PC where she handled various entertainment contracts. She began her career in 2004 as an associate lawyer in the Labor and Employment group at Alston & Bird, LLP in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ingram earned a Juris Doctorate (J.D) from the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, magna cum laude, from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Ingram is a former board member of the Southeast Board of Directors for WICT and is a proud member of one of the nation’s oldest volunteer service organizations, The Links, Incorporated.
Diverse Representation is focused on increasing the exposure and hiring of African-American agents, managers, publicists, attorneys and executives working in the entertainment industry. In addition to providing the first ever comprehensive database of African-American agents, attorneys, managers and publicists, we also host various events throughout the country. Click here for more information.
