Producing Organization of PBS Series POV to Launch New Shorts Initiative This Year
New York, N.Y. — Feb. 20, 2017 — American Documentary (AmDoc), the parent organization of the PBS documentary series POV, today announced the hiring of Chloe Gbai as the POV shorts and streaming producer, as well as the addition of two new members to its board of directors. Working closely with the executive producers, Gbai will spearhead a new initiative by the 30-year-old series to bring more short documentaries to its broadcast and streaming platforms. The addition of Anjali Kumar and Carolyn Strauss to the board of directors continue yearlong diversification and expansion efforts.
“This is an exciting time at AmDoc,” said Justine Nagan, executive producer/executive director of POV/American Documentary. “With the addition of Chloe to our team, we’re expanding POV’s role in championing groundbreaking docs by emerging filmmakers. We meet our audiences in many places, from broadcast to mobile, and our shorts and streaming initiative will bring new stories to serve those diverse platforms.”
“Anjali and Carolyn come to our board with unique experience and insights, and a passion for public media and documentaries,” Nagan added. “In addition to their strong networks and broad skill sets they will help us meet our goals to bring gender parity and additional diversity to AmDoc’s board in the months to come.”
Produced by American Documentary, POV is public television’s premier showcase for nonfiction films, bringing viewers across the country bold nonfiction storytelling in their living rooms, communities and online. Under Gbai’s direction, AmDoc launches POV Shorts as part of a growing number of field-building initiatives from the organization this year.
“I am beyond excited to jumpstart the shorts initiative and help POV revamp its efforts in streaming video,” said Gbai. “The content that POV brings audiences is ever important and it’s great to be able to structure new ways to showcase even more amazing work.”
A native of New York, Chloe Gbai is a filmmaker/producer whose work centers around issues of race, immigration, and gender. She received her bachelor’s degree from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Her work has appeared on Teen Vogue, HBO, VH1, Logo TV and has been chosen as a Vimeo staff pick.
AmDoc’s new board members also come with extensive media backgrounds. Anjali Kumar is the chief people officer and general counsel at Cheddar, a post-cable network led by former Buzzfeed president Jon Steinberg, and Carolyn Strauss is the former President of HBO Entertainment.
“The opportunity to lend my brain and pocket to the goal of helping POV cope with the radically evolving media landscape—to meet the challenges of the present and anticipate and prepare for those of the future—is something I find both exciting and stimulating,” said Strauss.
Kumar added: “I can’t think of a more impactful way to highlight the most vulnerable of our society than through incredible storytelling. And the work [AmDoc does] is the cream of the crop.”
Including Strauss and Kumar, AmDoc has added four new members to the board in 2018. For more information on the newest members, continue below:
Carolyn Strauss
Carolyn Strauss grew up in Scarsdale, NY and graduated from Harvard University in 1985.
She began her career at HBO as a temp in 1986 and left almost 22 years later as president of HBO Entertainment. Since leaving the executive ranks, Strauss continues her relationship with HBO as a producer.
Strauss currently sits on the boards of Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles, The Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project of Los Angeles and New Horizons, an organization serving those with special needs. She is a former board member of Temple Israel of Hollywood and served for six years on the education board of the Temple Israel of Hollywood Day School, including two years as co-chair.
Strauss lives in Hollywood with the human and canine members of her family.
Anjali Kumar
Anjali Kumar is currently the Chief People Officer and general counsel at Cheddar, a post-cable network led by Jon Steinberg, the former president of Buzzfeed and CEO of Daily Mail US, and also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and Fordham University. She serves as an advisor to prominent technology companies, luxury fashion brands, consumer products and nonprofit organizations including Malala Fund, IDEO.org and organize.org.
Kumar’s first book, Stalking God: My Unorthodox Search for Something to Believe In, humorously chronicles her attempts to answer questions she can’t Google an answer to for her six year old daughter. It was released January 16, 2018 by Hachette.
Anjali earned her bachelor’s in biomedical ethics from Brown University and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. In 2016, she was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to join the NYC Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board. She currently serves on the board of directors of GloScience Professional, Amplifier Foundation, Edible Schoolyard NY and GrowNYC. Anjali also serves on the Guggenheim Museum’s Global Innovation Group.
She lives in New York City and Hudson, N.Y. with her husband, Atul, and daughter, Zia.
