BOSTON (September 21, 2020) – Boston public media producer GBH has awarded five fellowships to innovative staff and independent producers recognizing excellence, potential and creativity. The recipients of the 2021 Fellowship Awards are Christina Beiene and Marcy Gunther, who received the Becton Fellowship; Gabrielle Emanuel and Marisa Wolsky, recipients of the Margret and Hans Rey/Curious George Producership; and Leah Williams, recipient of the Peter S. McGhee Fellowship.
“We’re pleased to be able to acknowledge the thought-provoking and original contributions each of these producers has brought to GBH projects,” said GBH president and CEO Jon Abbott. “From engaging digital content for kids to trusted journalism, our 2021 fellows have advanced public media’s mission to enrich the lives of our audiences.”
Beiene and Gunther were selected as 2021 Becton Fellows. This fellowship, supported by the Becton Fund and named in honor of GBH’s former president and current vice chair, Henry Becton, Jr., recognizes promising GBH producers and content creators whose work is emblematic of the organization’s public service mission.
Beiene is an Associate Producer at GBH News where she helps produce the evening news program Greater Boston and the media criticism show Beat the Press. Beiene joined GBH as an intern in 2016 assisting in the development of the Boston Public Library studio and working on the weekday program Boston Public Radio. As a student in 2015, she was awarded the New England Sports Network’s Next Producer award.
Gunther, Director of Media Development for Children’s Media and Senior Producer at GBH, is a multi-Emmy award-winning producer with more than 20 years of experience developing and producing educational children’s media. In addition to overseeing the Children’s Media development slate, she was Senior Producer on the first season of the PBS series Molly of Denali. Previously, she produced The Ruff Ruffman Show, FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman and the Emmy-Award winning children’s series ZOOM.
Emanuel and Wolsky were selected as the Margret and Hans Rey/Curious George Producers. Made possible through a bequest from author Margret Rey through the Curious George Foundation, this fellowship recognizes GBH creators who work in areas reflecting Rey’s broad interests, including science, public affairs, arts, health and children’s programming.
GBH News Reporter Emanuel has produced thoughtful and in-depth journalism, unveiling nuanced stories on subjects such as the opioid trials in federal court and the untold history of the Reverse Freedom Riders. She has received numerous awards for her reporting, including national and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Sigma Delta Chi Award and a Clarion Award.
Wolsky, Executive Producer for Children’s Media at GBH, is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer with 30 years of experience turning educational content into entertaining media for kids. Wolsky manages development and production of national children's media series including Scribbles and Ink, Design Squad, PEEP and the Big Wide World, and Plum Landing, as well as several projects in development, including a preschool computational thinking series for PBS.
Williams was selected as the Peter S. McGhee Fellow. Williams is an independent director and producer whose career spans hard news, news magazine and documentary film. Her work has been recognized with Emmy, duPont, Peabody and NAACP Image awards along with nominations in both News/Documentary and Primetime. Most recently, she directed and produced episodes on a forthcoming GBH-produced series for PBS, American Veteran – a four-part exploration of the experience of veterans across the entire arc of American history. Named for GBH’s former head of national programming, the McGhee Fellowship is awarded each year to a mid-career filmmaker who has shown exceptional promise in non-fiction television production and who adheres to the standards set by McGhee, including excellence, intelligence, fairness, passion and scholarship.
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About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. GBH is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and Arthur and Molly of Denali, as well as GBH WORLD and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR®; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and representative of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to audience members who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. With PBS LearningMedia, GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide. GBH’s local programming includes Boston Public Radio, Greater Boston, Stories from the Stage, Open Studio with Jared Bowen, Basic Black and High School Quiz Show. GBH has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards.
