BETHESDA – September 10, 2001. Ms. Iyanla Vanzant left a voice-mail message at my office. At that time, I was an executive producer in Primetime Programming at Discovery Networks. About a week earlier, on a Monday morning, in that very office, I watched the premiere of Iyanla, the Barbara Walters-produced national talk show featuring Iyanla Vanzant. And I wrote lots of notes (and sent them to an email address in the end credits), reacting and responding to what I’d seen in that first show. Iyanla called to discuss my notes. We talked for hours, well into the night. I remember my feet being up on the desk when the cleaning crew vacuumed my office floor that night. That hours-long phone call was the beginning of a professional partnership (and personal friendship) that has lasted over 20 years. In January of 2013, in association with Harpo Productions, I began my work as a consulting producer on Iyanla, Fix My Life, for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. Traveling the country producing the series, I shot a lot of behind-the-scenes footage that I shared on YouTube in a playlist titled On the Road with Iyanla Vanzant.
Take a look.