New York Women in Film & Television board member and Black Public Media executive director Leslie Fields-Cruz has been named to Crain’s New York Business’ Notable Black Leaders and Executives list for 2021.
The list highlights Black businessmen and women working within the New York City metropolitan area who have impacted and helped the city in significant ways through their professional, civic and philanthropical work. As the head of BPM, a Harlem-based nonprofit dedicated to developing, funding and producing content by and about people throughout the African Diaspora, Fields-Cruz has worked at the nexus of media and diversity for decades.
“I’m honored to be included on this list with so many extraordinary professionals from different fields working to make permanent and positive change for Black communities and other people of color around the world,” Fields-Cruz said.
Leslie is an artist, producer, and arts administrator who advocates for authentic representations of people of color. She joined Black Public Media is December 2001, and now leads the organization as its third Executive Director. Leslie has disseminated over $14 million dollars in production support to films about the Black experience, and is the Executive Producer of BPM’s anthology series AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, and was a Co-Executive Producer for the Peabody Award-Winning, 180 Days: Inside An American High School. Leslie lives in Cortlandt Manor with her husband, Gerry Cruz, and is the mother of a teenager and two young adults.
