Yahoo News Sundance Institute’s Carrie Lozano Named President & CEO Of ITVS
ITVS today announced the appointment of Carrie Lozano as the organization’s new president and CEO, succeeding longtime chief Sally Jo Fifer.
Lozano, an Emmy and Peabody-winning documentary filmmaker, joins ITVS from the Sundance Institute, where she has served as director of Documentary Films and Artists Programs since 2020. ITVS, which is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, describes its mission as bringing “independently-produced, high-quality public broadcast and new media programs to local, national, and international audiences.”
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In a statement, ITVS board chair Garry Denny said, “Carrie’s integrity as an investigative journalist, her leadership experience, and her fierce commitment to filmmakers and democracy will lift our field, partners and incredible staff for many years to come. The board is thrilled to welcome her to our team and to public media.”
As president and CEO, Lozano will be charged with continuing “to protect independent artists’ voices, editorial control and copyright while elevating nonfiction storytelling as an essential strategy for public media to reach new and diverse audiences,” according to a release from ITVS. Fifer, who led ITVS for 22 years, announced her intention to step down in January. The board, working with executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, initiated a search for Fifer’s successor, culminating in today’s announcement.
“ITVS is an empowering oasis for filmmakers who shift narratives and earn the public’s trust one authentic, impactful story at a time,” Lozano said. “I am in awe of their editorial care and artistry, and I cannot wait to collaborate with them, our partners, and our ITVS team. Connecting American audiences to powerful independent voices through PBS’ vast, accessible network is a dream come true.”
Lozano’s first day at ITVS will be August 7. Prior to her work with the Sundance Institute, Lozano designed and directed the International Documentary Association’s Enterprise Documentary Fund, where she supported filmmakers with funding and journalistic resources on projects including ITVS-funded titles Through the Night, One Child Nation, and Always in Season. At the IDA, she also led the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, which focuses on films about environmental justice and other social issues.
Lozano produced the 2002 Academy Award-nominated documentary The Weather Underground (a film funded by ITVS), and produced, directed, and edited the 2006 short documentary Reporter Zero. Her most recent film, 2016’s The Ballad of Fred Hersch, documented the titular jazz pianist and composer. Lozano serves on the advisory boards of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and PBS’ Frontline, is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on the board of jurors of the Peabody Awards. She is on the board of directors of ProPublica.
ITVS, headquartered in San Francisco, funds and partners “with a diverse range of documentary filmmakers to produce and distribute untold stories,” according to the nonprofit organization. “ITVS incubates and co-produces these award-winning films and then airs them for free on PBS via our weekly series, Independent Lens, as well as on other PBS series.”
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