Biographie
Award-winning executive producer and consultant, Tia A. Smith is one of the most sought- after creatives in the industry today, continually developing culturally shifting projects that leave lasting imprints on audiences around the world. Known for spearheading and identifying commercially marketable projects, Smith is a rare creative whose work spans the spectrum of digital, independent, corporate, scripted & unscripted television, film, development & current production, and live events. Most recently, she received the Trail Blazer Award from the African American Women in Cinema (AAWIC), a Proclamation from the City of New York and a "Day of Recognition" honoring her artistic contributions to the entertainment industry. Ms. Smith is a long-standing member of the Producers Guild of America, and was selected to represent the guild as a speaker at the United Nations' "Commission on the Status of Women: The Role of the Producer" Summit. Considered one of the leading value agents in her field, she serves as a judge for the Emmy's, the International & National Film/Documentary categories for the New York Film Festivals, a panelist for AAWIC, NABFEME and WICT mentor & consultant respectively.
For seven years, Smith served as Network Executive at TVOne, LLC., and has launched some of its' most successful and record-breaking programming. The wide range of shows consist of the Emmy nominated "A Ray Charles Tribute: In Performance at the White House", "The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House", The "47th, 48th, 49th, and 50th NAACP Image Awards"; sitcoms "Born Again Virgin", "The Rickey Smiley Show"; movies "Hear No Evil", "For The Love Of Ruth", "To Hell & Back", "Girlfriend's Getaway 2"; and true crime franchises "Fatal Attraction"(Cablefax Award), "For My Man", and "Find Our Missing with S. Epatha Merkerson" (Best Practices Award). After Smith's success in developing the network's Monday night true crime block, she was tasked to procure and executive produce one of the network's most controversial stories into the biopic, "When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story." Under her leadership, this movie ranks as the networks #1 telecast of all time amongst key demos while reaching 2 million unique viewers increasing the company's profile as "one to watch" in the scripted arena.
Prior to her post at TVOne, Ms. Smith founded talentedSOL Productions in 2006. From script to screen the company traveled the world to create and ensure the best visual representation for its clients. talentedSOL Productions was chosen by The Bill Gates Foundation to document the results of malaria vaccine trials conducted in Africa to reduce the inequities and improve lives around the world. The company produced and consulted on projects for MTV, VH1, BET, TVOne, Lifetime Networks, Burrell, Uniworld, Verizon, Coke, RCA Records, SONY Music Group and many more. talentedSOL produced/directed two successful commercials for FORD Motors' Taurus and Edge campaigns, and consulted for Tavis Smiley's 10th annual State of the Black Union Address.
Ms. Smith's career began at Black Entertainment Television (BET), where she became the youngest Music Director to program the billion-dollar network which had over 80 million viewers. Smith continuously proved herself at the network, serving as Executive Producer for the highly rated and longest-running show in cable history, "Bobby Jones Gospel." Smith also co-created a myriad of programs such as "Lift Every Voice", "Jam Zone", "Top 25 Countdown", "BET New Year's Countdown", and the network's first "All Access Granted" shows. In addition, Smith also created innovative, specialty programs for the network on Mariah Carey, Usher, Alicia Keys, Jay Z and the highly-rated special --"A Conversation with The Queen" featuring Queen Latifah, and "Faithfully Yours: 10 Years of Celebration of Gospel" tribute special.
Smith also produced several prime-time documentaries for conglomerates such as VH1's "Black in the 80's: Color in Film" (critically acclaimed), "All Access: Rock Star Makeovers featuring Kevyn Aucoin", "Save the Music Foundation with Lenny Kravitz", "Hard Rock Live Presents", "Fairway to Heaven: Celebrity Golf with Will Smith", and Lifetime Network's "One in Three" and "Silence" PSA's raising awareness for Women's Abuse Campaigns.
