Joe Fortunato

A native of Akron, Ohio, Joe Fortunato began his entertainment career as a research assistant on NBC's TODAY show in the summer of 1988. After graduating from Yale University the following year, he came to Los Angeles and worked at ABC in Children's & Family Programs and then the next few years developing movies for television at NBC. From there, he joined the Creative Affairs team at Shukovsky English Entertainment (SEE) to help develop primetime series for the company. He partnered with writer James Koonce, and together they worked as staff writers for the FOX comedy Living in Captivity under the tutelage of Murphy Brown creator Diane English. 

Aside from his full-time duties as a senior lecturer at Arizona State University, Fortunato has served on the executive board for the Independent Feature Project (IFP), Phoenix Chapter and is a member of the Writer's Guild of America. In addition to being on the faculty, he is currently pursuing a doctorate in journalism and mass communication at ASU. He is also the creator of "Fortunato Film School" a popular program where he hosts screenings of classic films with live commentary for cinema enthusiasts.