The Elon alumna will serve on the channel’s senior leadership team and lead inclusivity initiatives in the newly created position.
Theresa Helmer ’12 was recently named Disney Channel’s executive director of integrated content strategy and development, a newly created position responsible for helping spotlight underrepresented groups in its content for kids ages two to 14. A strategic communications major at Elon, Helmer will serve on the channel’s senior leadership team and report to Gary Marsh, president and CCO of Disney Channels Worldwide.
In her role, the Elon 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’s 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.
“Theresa’s unflagging determination, insight and passion have already contributed to enhancing our diversity, inclusion and belonging efforts,” said Marsh in an Aug. 21 Deadline release. “In this new role as part of the senior leadership team, she’ll have a seat at the table that will allow her to reinforce further how we can authentically showcase underrepresented populations in our storytelling.”
Helmer’s appointment and new responsibilities reflect a positive trend in children’s TV programming. According to a UCLA study and Hollywood Reporter article, researchers found that 54 percent of the kids’ shows it studied feature lead characters from underrepresented populations — a higher rate than shows for adults.
An active community member as an Elon undergraduate, Helmer was a member of the Elon chapter of the American Advertising Federation and served as president of Alpha Chi Omega.