NEW YORK, N.Y. – GLAAD announced today the expansion of its entertainment advocacy team with the addition of two industry insiders: Jeremy Blacklow joins as Director of Entertainment Media and Anthony Ramos as Director of Talent Engagement. Megan Townsend has been promoted to Director of Entertainment Research & Analysis.
Blacklow will lead GLAAD’s work to advocate for diversity in Hollywood and to increase the quality and quantity of LGBTQ images on television and film, as well as in comics, gaming, and music. Ramos will work with talent at the annual GLAAD Media Awards and engage celebrities and notables in GLAAD’s digital campaigns throughout the year. Ramos will also produce content with celebrities that raises awareness of LGBTQ issues. Townsend will lead all research and content analysis related to the industry, including the continuation of GLAAD’s ongoing and annual reports on LGBTQ images on television and in film. She will also expand GLAAD’s reporting on LGBTQ representation in Hollywood to create real time responses.
“At a time when our culture is growing hostile towards LGBTQ people, the entertainment industry is more important than ever to accelerate acceptance of marginalized communities,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO. “We need to harness the energy that exists in Hollywood and use it to fight back and create a better world for LGBTQ youth.”
“GLAAD’s team will push the big budget film industry at a time when the studios have reached an unacceptable low in their representation of LGBTQ people and suffered box office meltdown,” Ellis continued. “As gaming and comics become more and more influential, it’s critical that GLAAD have the right experts in place to take the incredible work we have done on television in the last decade and ensure that every platform in the industry is fairly and accurately representing LGBTQ people and issues.”
Prior to GLAAD, Jeremy Blacklow worked for 17 years as a journalist, with a focus in entertainment news. After beginning his career in New York City at NBC’s Weekend Today show, he later helped launch the TMZ brand in 2005 and the CAA-created digital agency WhoSay in 2011. Blacklow served five years as managing editor of Access Hollywood’s digital enterprises, and later helped spearhead the editorial relationship between Yahoo! and CBS’s The Insider, appearing frequently as an on-air entertainment news contributor. In recent years, Blacklow has worked as a digital marketing consultant, while also freelance writing for publications including Variety, The Wrap, and ET Online.
Anthony Ramos has more than 14 years of experience in the entertainment industry and joins GLAAD after serving as an Emmy-nominated segment producer for Access Hollywood and Access Hollywood Live. There, he produced and oversaw content focusing on TV, music and fashion, and strategized to increase LGBTQ inclusion, bringing LGBTQ celebrities and stories to millions of viewers. During his time at Access Hollywood, he carved out exclusive interviews with talent and influencers including Ricky Martin, the cast of Will & Grace, Nico Tortorella, Miley Cyrus, Laverne Cox, Gigi Gorgeous, and the cast of Scandal.
Megan Townsend is a resource to the industry through her work in training and consultation, as well as roles on LGBTQ-inclusive entertainment panels during high-profile events such as San Diego Comic-Con and the Television Critics Association Press Tour. She has authored GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index, Where We Are on TV report, and several highly cited GLAAD articles. Megan began her career as a GLAAD Entertainment Media Fellow.
Blacklow and Townsend join the Programs & Campaigns team under Zeke Stokes, GLAAD’s head of Programs. Ramos joins the communications team under Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s Chief Communications Officer.
The additions are the latest in GLAAD’s efforts to expand its long-term strategic capabilities to address rising threats to the LGBTQ community. Earlier this year, the organization launched new programs – News & Rapid Response, Digital Campaigns, and External Engagement – to respond to anti-LGBTQ policies and to engage new audiences in GLAAD’s LGBTQ advocacy work.
