Phase One of Media, Citizens & Democracy was guided by an advisory board comprised of leaders in entertainment, advertising, advocacy, government, academia and research.

Donald Bellisario
President, Bellisarius Productions; creator/producer of JAG and First Monday

Amy Brenneman
Actress and Producer, Judging Amy

Peggy Conlon
President and CEO, The Advertising Council Inc.

John Connolly
President, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)

Martha Coolidge
President, Director’s Guild of America

Barbara Dixon
Director, Museum of Television and Radio (LA)

Linda Ellerby
President and CEO, Lucky Duck Productions

William Galston, PhD
Professor, University of Maryland School of Public Affairs

Melissa Gilbert
President, Screen Actors Guild

Fred Grandy
Former U.S. Congressman (R-IO) and actor

Gwen Ifill
Washington Week moderator and Managing Editor, WETA

Claudia J. Kennedy, Lt. Gen. United States Army (Ret.)
Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (current)

Robert Lichter, Ph.D.
President, Center for Media and Public Affairs

Kathryn Montgomery, Ph.D.
Professor, Public Communication, American University

Dee Dee Myers
Former White House Press Secretary (1992-94)

Frank Pierson
President, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Vicki Riskin
President, The Writers Guild of America West

Tom Shales
Media Critic, The Washington Post

Robert Thompson, PhD
President, The Center for the Study of Popular TV

Jack Valenti
President, Motion Picture Association of America

Dick Wolf
President, Wolf Films; creator/producer of Law & Order

Bryce Zabel
President, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences