✩ Ozy Media ✩
Founded in 2012 by Carlos Watson and his family following his career at MSNBC, CNN, and BET, OZY started with top tier newsletters and eventually began to profile the new and the next across 14 premium television shows, 10 original podcasts, 4 world class festivals, 5 important awards programs and 5 leading newsletters.
OZY won an Emmy in 2020.
After a very public scandal, Ozy temporarily shut down and then promptly re-opened. It was at this point that Carlos hired me as part of a new leadership team to help triage and re-brand the purpose-driven media company.
In 2023, a few months into my tenure with the media company, the FBI arrested Carlos and froze all assets.
This is the raw footage taken on my phone for posterity is from the soft launch of the re-brand which was unveiled at a major media trade show in NYC days before the FBI sting operation.
identity and story
programs and awards
The OZY Genius Awards found and supported the next generation of thought leaders.
Before Amanda Gorman delighted the world with her poetic genius at the 2021 presidential inauguration, she applied for and won an OZY Genius Award in 2017.
Over 10 Years, OZY had award-winning shows on trusted networks you know from PBS, AMAZON to the BBC. OZY even won an Emmy for it’s ground-breaking Black Women Own the Conversation.
Sheroics was a podcast about women creating transformational change in their communities. Hosted by author, advocate, and iconic former Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz,each episode introduced an activist, public servant, or citizen working to make her corner of the planet a better place.
elevating minority voices
I accepted the role with Ozy Media in the middle of a public crisis because I believed in the vision of a media company that elevates underrepresented voices. I still believe in this vision and think that the shuttering of Ozy Media leaves a huge gap in the marketplace and media landscape that I hope someone can fill. I believe Ozy Media created meaningful content and impact, despite its embarrassing and racially-biased legal troubles.