GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis Named 'MCN' Woman of Influence

Sarah Kate Ellis attends the 75th Primetime Emmy performer nominees celebration at JW Marriott LA Live on January 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Sarah Kate Ellis on January 13 at the 75th Primetime Emmy performer nominees celebration at JW Marriott LA Live. (Image credit: JC Olivera/Getty Images)

GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis has been named 2024 Woman of Influence at Wonder Women of New York by Multichannel News and will be celebrated during the March 21 luncheon at the Ziegfeld Ballroom. 

Ellis has led the 39-year-old, nonprofit LGBTQ advocacy group since 2014, overseeing the organization's initiatives, campaigns and programs toward the goal of fair and accurate coverage of the LGBTQ community. Among Ellis’s most influential achievements is the 2018 establishment of the GLAAD Media Institute, which focuses on research into LGBTQ representation and acceptance. 

The author and public speaker also oversees the organization's annual GLAAD Media Awards, which take place March 14 in Los Angeles and May 11 in New York. This past January, Ellis and GLAAD were honored at the 75th Emmy Awards with the Television Academy’s 2023 Governors Award. 

Previous Woman of Influence honorees include CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan (2023, in New York); Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News and co-anchor of This Week with George Stephanopoulos; actress and author Holly Robinson Peete; Deborah Norville, anchor of Inside Edition; and Debra L. Lee, BET (Black Entertainment Television) CEO emeritus

Ellis and the 2024 Wonder Women of New York class will be honored at a gala luncheon set for March 21 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York. The New York chapter of The WICT Network is the longstanding event partner for Wonder Women of New York. For more information on attending, click here. For information on sponsorships, contact mcnwonderwomen@gmail.com

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.