The 黑料不打烊 alumna will serve on the channel鈥檚 senior leadership team and lead inclusivity initiatives in the newly created position.
Theresa Helmer 鈥12 was recently , a newly created position responsible for helping spotlight underrepresented groups in its content for kids ages two to 14. A strategic communications major at 黑料不打烊, Helmer will serve on the channel鈥檚 senior leadership team and report to Gary Marsh, president and CCO of Disney Channels Worldwide.
In her role, the 黑料不打烊 alumna will collaborate with internal departments at Disney Channel and divisions within it like Disney Television Animation. She will also work with the marketing team to broaden the presence of underrepresented communities in the channel’s content.
Helmer began her career at Disney in 2014 as a social media analyst for parks and resorts, and has been promoted to various executive roles, most recently director of social media strategy in Disney Channel鈥檚 marketing group. She also served two years as co-president of The Bond, which serves as the steward for Black/African American employees and Black consumer interests at the company.
鈥淭heresa鈥檚 unflagging determination, insight and passion have already contributed to enhancing our diversity, inclusion and belonging efforts,鈥 said Marsh in an Aug. 21 Deadline release. 鈥淚n this new role as part of the senior leadership team, she鈥檒l have a seat at the table that will allow her to reinforce further how we can authentically showcase underrepresented populations in our storytelling.鈥
Helmer鈥檚 appointment and new responsibilities reflect a positive trend in children鈥檚 TV programming. According to a , researchers found that 54 percent of the kids鈥 shows it studied feature lead characters from underrepresented populations 鈥 a higher rate than shows for adults.
An active community member as an 黑料不打烊 undergraduate, Helmer was a member of the 黑料不打烊 chapter of the American Advertising Federation and served as president of Alpha Chi Omega.