Background
Debra L. Lee was born in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Debra L. Lee was born in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina.
She attended James B. Dudley High School. In 1976, Lee graduated from Brown University with a bachelor"s degree in political science with an emphasis in Asian politics.
Born August 8, 1955) is an American businesswoman. She is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Black Entertainment Television, the parent company for Black Entertainment Television. She is the mother of two.
Lee has sat on the board of directors for a number of companies/organizations, including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association the Ad Council, and the National Cable Television Association.
Legal and early Black Entertainment Television career From August 1981 through September 1981, Lee served as a law clerk to Barrington Parker of the United States. District Court for the District of Columbia. Lee joined Black Entertainment Television as Vice President of Black Entertainment Television"s legal affairs department and general counsel in 1986 after over five years as an attorney with Washington, District of Columbia based Steptoe & Johnson, a corporate law firm.
She has also served as Black Entertainment Television"s corporate secretary and president and publisher of Black Entertainment Television"s publishing division, which publishes Emerge Black Entertainment Television Weekend and Heart & Soul magazines. As Chief Executive Officer of Black Entertainment Television Holdings In 2005, she became President and Chief Executive Officer (Chief Executive Officer).
The company had nearly $100 million in revenue last year.
Lee serves on board of directors of Marriott, and Revlon. Lee is also a director of Washington Gas Light Company, WGL Holdings (since 2000) and the Monsanto subsidiary Genuity. As Chief Executive Officer of Black Entertainment Television Under Lee, Black Entertainment Television has begun to move in a different format direction for the network.
She increased the production budget by 50% and looked into incorporating original programming by getting 16 new shows for the new 2007 season.
Lee has also redesigned Black Entertainment Television"s mission statement by supporting families, encourgaging their dreams, and presenting fresh talent by creating new shows for its network. She created a new entertainment network, CENTRIC, in September 2009 that features new artists, reality shows, and movies.
She went on to earn a Master"s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a law degree at Harvard Law School, where she was a member of the Board of Student Advisers, in 1980.