3 join alumni board
The Media School Alumni Association Board has elected three new members.
During their three-year terms, they will attend twice-yearly board meetings, enhance student-alumni connections, review curricula and provide insight into the media industry.
The new board members are:
Deanna (pronounced Dee-nuh) Fry graduated from IU in 2006 and currently lives in Washington, D.C. She is a Peabody and National Emmy award-winning senior producer for “American In Black” on BET and a supervising producer for CBS News’s “Face The Nation.”
In 2019 Deanna joined CBS News in New York City, where she produced award-winning pieces on some of the biggest stories from recent years, including the Ahmaud Arbery case (helping CBS become the first national network to cover the story), George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor’s deaths.
Deanna has nearly 20 years of experience in broadcasting, having been a tape, field, and line producer in local news covering numerous breaking news events such as the Sandy Hook shooting, the Boston Marathon bombing, and multiple presidential visits.
Deanna’s talent for television production spans several roles with FOX, NBC, ABC, and PBS affiliates. Prior to CBS News, she was a coordinating producer at Heart Television’s DC bureau. In addition to her talent as a producer, Deanna has been a mentor to many in the broadcast news business and is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Lisa Levey is a freelance executive producer, specializing in unscripted television.
Following her graduation from Indiana University in 2002, she relocated to New York and began working in various outlets of live, scripted, and nonfiction television and film, eventually landing a role working at the NBA. Her experience there opened doors to other opportunities in sports documentaries, and she went on to produce several Emmy-nominated specials and series for ESPN and FOX Sports Net.
After producing an action sports series for MTV, she then pivoted to their news and docs department, leading to new opportunities in the nonfiction space. She began freelance producing and directing television series for various networks, including MTV, Bravo, TLC, Oxygen, Lifetime, VH1, and Showtime. Currently, Lisa’s primary focus lies in overseeing series post-production, most recently as one of the executive producers for the Bravo franchise “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”
Lisa’s 20 years of freelance experience have given her a wealth of knowledge in navigating the ins and outs of unscripted television production, and she has been using her expertise to mentor others entering the field.
Brian is a seasoned digital media executive with expertise in creatively building and executing content partnerships. He was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s “35 under 35” class of 2019.
Brian currently serves as head of content for the Roku Brand Studio. His focus is to originate and produce streaming-first entertainment in partnership with advertisers. RBS creates content in a variety of forms—from series such as “The Lesbian Bar Project,” to the emerging filmmaker short film showcase “The Shortlist,” to short-form animated content, children’s programming, Spanish language content, and original Roku Channel franchises such as “Roku Recommends” and “The Roku Rundown.” RBS was selected as Digiday’s 2021 “Studio of the Year.”
As the digital SVP at Funny Or Die, Brian oversaw the partner and programming teams. He has helped execute over 500 successful digital content partnerships. As a member of the senior leadership group, Brian collaborated with other FOD executives on operation and growth strategies.
Brian co-founded the Motion Picture Television Fund’s NextGen Board of Directors and currently serves as chairman emeritus.