Akisa Omulepu is an Emmy-nominated documentarian, director, producer, and editor. Most recently she was the first Black woman to direct “Great Performances” on PBS in the show’s 50-year history. She directed and produced “A Dream Deferred: The Broken Promise of New York City Public Housing” for PBS, which was nominated for two Emmys.
A native New Yorker, Akisa lived in Nairobi, Kenya for eight years working as a foreign correspondent, producer, and entertainment manager. While in Kenya, she launched her production company, executive produced and hosted a weekly television show, and was a part of the NBC Nightly News production team that covered the Westgate Mall al-Shabab terrorist attack, among other things.
Akisa is adjunct faculty at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She serves as a judge for various Emmy Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. Akisa is a member of The Directors Guild of America (DGA), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Television Academy), a lifetime member of The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Akisa started her career in academia teaching mathematics in a public school in the South Bronx, and at the City University of New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and is a Yale World Fellow.
