Sports Media Summit
Meet the Panelists
- Sharri Berg is a founding member of the 1996 FOX News Channel launch team and currently serves as the president of FOX Weather. She was also a founding member of the dean’s council for American University’s School of Communications and has been honored with multiple awards.
- As an executive vice president at FOX Sports, Michael Davies (Jour’94) oversees daily operations and technological advancements in live broadcasts, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in technical production and innovation. Before joining FOX Sports in 2006, he worked at HBO Sports, earning multiple Sports Emmy Awards and securing patents for innovations in sports broadcasting.
- As chief brand officer, Morgan Dewan oversees creative services, video production, digital media and content operations for Top Rank Boxing. Previously, Dewan held executive roles with the San Antonio Spurs, Bleacher Report and Turner Sports (now WBD Sports), handling content strategy, broadcast production and digital programming.
- Reid Fowler (Comm’08) is an accomplished TV host, radio personality and sports betting analyst. He has nearly a decade of experience working with major national and global networks, including ESPN, PGA Tour and the NFL, among others. One of his most notable interviews was with Travis Hunter minutes after he won the Heisman Trophy.
- Jason Gewirtz (Jour’95) joined SportsTravel in 2008 as managing editor, and is now the executive editor and publisher. He also serves as vice president of the sports division of Northstar Meetings Group and is a member of the board of directors for the national Sports Events & Tourism Association. He previously worked as a reporter and editor for various publications in California and Colorado.
- Priscilla Hopper (InfoSci’22; MS’23) is the senior data and reporting analyst at Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, covering the Nuggets, Avalanche, Mammoth and Rapids. She is also an adjunct professor of information science and has received a variety of regional and national honors, including the 2022 CU Student Integrity and Female Founder Awards.
- Michael Jaquet (Jour’93) has spent more than 30 years in the media business, and currently runs his own media rights and strategy agency, Sports Marketing Collective. Previously, Jaquet served as chief marketing officer at U.S. Ski and Snowboard for two Olympics, head of sales at CBS Sports and founder of FREEZE Magazine.
- Peter Lasser (Comm’76) has produced and directed a variety of sports worldwide, winning nine Emmy Awards. Credits include everything from the NFL, NBA and MLB to World Championships in swimming, gymnastics and boxing. Last weekend, Lasser Productions produced both the SEC and ACC swimming and diving championships for ESPN.
- Tom Ley (Engl’10) is co-owner and editor-in-chief of Defector Media, which publishes about sports, politics, culture and more. Prior to Defector, Ley spent more than seven years in a variety of positions at Deadspin.
- Tom McGovern is the president and founder of Optimum Sports. On behalf of clients such as Apple, Draft Kings, State Farm, Nissan, Eli Lilly, PepsiCo, Delta and Uber, his team oversees large budgets across all sports media platforms, and more than 300 annual partnerships with leagues, teams, schools and athletes.
- A third-generation Colorado native, Patrick Saunders (MJour’87) has worked for The Denver Post since 1998, when he began covering the Denver Broncos. He’s been a Rockies beat writer since 2005, save for a two-year stint as The Post’s online sports editor. He was honored as the 2018 Colorado Sportswriter of the Year and was president of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in 2017.
- Bennett Spector (Comm’08) is the executive vice president and general manager of Bleacher Report, overseeing the company's operations across various offices. Over his career with B/R, Spector has led the business through multiple mergers and acquisitions, and his journey from intern to GM exemplifies the dynamic career paths available in today's sports media landscape.
- Ben Valenta (Engl, Fin’05) is the senior vice president of strategy and analytics for FOX Sports. Prior to FOX, he consulted with an array of clients, including Nike, the NFL, YouTube, ESPN, National Geographic and NBC News. He is the author of Fans Have More Friends, a book that explores the pro-social benefits of sports fandom.
- Baelee Winkle (InfoSci’22) is a data engineer at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, specializing in financial data across multiple KSE entities. Previously, she worked as an integration and automation analyst, supporting ticketing data for the Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids and Mammoth.