At a press conference Friday at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the appointment of Cynthia López as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. A native New Yorker, López has more than 20 years of experience in New York City’s film and television industries. As commissioner, López will focus on investing in new projects to diversify and build a more inclusive entertainment industry, and expand educational and training opportunities for the film and television industries.
López currently serves as executive vice president and co-executive producer of American Documentary and the critically acclaimed documentary series, POV, where she is responsible for all aspects of the organization’s development, including programming, community engagement communications, marketing and digital strategies. Over the course of her career, López has made it a priority to promote the work of filmmakers from traditionally underrepresented groups, and mentor first-time filmmakers.
“The film and television industries are central to New York City’s cultural vitality and to economic strength,” said de Blasio. “Cynthia has the experience and understands how the industry works in the city, and as commissioner, she will lead the administration’s efforts to continue keeping New York City a top filming destination – while opening up the industry to New Yorkers from all five boroughs.”
“Having spent my entire career working in the television and film industries in New York, I’m honored to join the de Blasio administration,” said López. “New York City is a thriving center of production and home to thousands of creative professionals who contribute to the film and television industries – and I look forward to leading the administration’s efforts to drive more film production to New York.”
“It’s incredibly challenging to produce television shows and feature films. It’s exponentially more difficult to make documentaries. Cynthia López has had a stellar career in the documentary field,” said Steiner Studios chairman, Douglas Steiner. “We’re thrilled with her selection as the commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Her experience in the trenches will help make New York City even more attractive to the exploding industry of content creation, which is vital to the city’s future.”
At POV, López implemented outreach strategies that increase public awareness about issues vital to the American public. Her ability to forge strategic partnerships among corporate and public interest media has been a signature of her work. López has been at American Documentary and POV since 2000, previously holding the positions of vice president and communications director.
During López’s tenure, POV has earned numerous awards. In 2013 alone, it was one of only 13 nonprofit organizations worldwide to receive a $1 million MacArthur Award for creative and effective institutions. Among its other honors are a special news and documentary Emmy award for excellence in television documentary filmmaking, two IDA awards for best continuing series, 32 additional Emmy awards, 15 George Foster Peabody Awards, 11 DuPont-Columbia broadcast journalism awards, three Academy Awards, the Prix Italia and the Webby. López is also the recipient of eight news and documentary Emmy awards.
Prior to joining POV, she served as acting executive director of the Deep Dish Satellite TV Network and executive producer of Hunter College’s Satellite TV Network, which included university, municipal and public access channels that distributed Latino public interest programming. López is the founding chair of the board of directors and a trustee of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). She also serves on the board of directors for Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB).
The daughter of Puerto Rican parents, López grew up in Sunset Park, Brooklyn and currently lives in Jackson Heights, Queens. She received her B.A. from Hunter College.
