Madison is the executive producer and subject of “Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China,” a compelling documentary that chronicles her journey to her maternal grandfather’s homeland in China and the reconnection of her family with his 300 descendants. HarperCollins published a memoir on the journey, Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem in April 2015.
Q&A with Madison will follow the screening.
ABOUT PAULA MADISON
Paula Williams Madison is Chairman and CEO of Madison Media Management LLC, a Los Angeles based media consultancy company with global reach.
In 2011, Madison retired from NBCUniversal, where she had been Executive Vice President of Diversity as well as a Vice President of the General Electric Company (GE), then the parent company of NBCU. During her 22 years with NBCU, she held a number of successful leadership roles, including President and General Manager of NBC4 Los Angeles, Los Angeles Regional General Manager for NBCU’s Telemundo TV stations and Vice President and News Director of NBC4 New York.
Her career as a journalist led to a 1996 Peabody Award for NBC4 New York’s investigation, “A License to Kill.” Madison’s continued dedication to quality journalism helped NBC4 Los Angeles earn numerous Emmy, Golden Mike and Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Motivated by derogatory comments made by then-radio personality Don Imus about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, Madison and her family made the bold decision to become franchise owners by acquiring the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks basketball team. Madison sold the team to Magic Johnson in 2014.
Honored for corporate leadership and community outreach, Madison was named one of the “75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise Magazine in 2005 and included in the Hollywood Reporter’s “Power 100.”
She’s been honored by Asian organizations as well, having been recognized in 2014 as one of the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business and was recently honored by the East West Players and AARP with their Visionary Award.
A marathoner, Madison also received the “Citizen of the Year Award” from the City of Los Angeles Marathon in 2004 and the AntiDefamation League’s “2003 Deborah Award.” And in 2013, Ebony Magazine named her to its second “Power 100” list.
In August 2013, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed Madison to the Los Angeles Police Commission where she served as vice president until 2015. Madison is a Board Member of the Greater Los Angeles United Way, the California Science Center Foundation, Vice Chair of National Medical Fellowships, the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, Cardinal Spellman High School, Chair of The Nell Williams Family Foundation as well as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
A native of Harlem, Madison and her husband Roosevelt reside in Los Angeles.
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