Shana Westlake

Shana Westlake is an independent producer and writer interested in politics, the media and women's rights. She began her career in baseball at MLB.com where she edited highlights and recap packages. She also field produced the Red Sox World Series parade in 2007 and the Red Sox visit to the White House before moving to ABC News.

With ABC News, Shana wrote and produced segments on a variety of topics including health, fitness, politics and lifestyle. She also supported ABC News' Emmy nominated election coverage for the 2010 midterms compiling comprehensive research packets and coordinating on-air graphics based on exit data. Shana also worked as an associate producer for a roundtable discussion on Islam with Christiane Amanpour and the Presidential address to the nation on the end of combat operations in Iraq.

Shana has also spent time as a booking producer with MSNBC coordinating guests for daytime programming. She worked through breaking news events such as the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan and the uprisings in Libya and Egypt.

Shana has a Bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from New York University and a Master's degree in media studies with a certificate in media management. During her graduate studies, she focused on the relationship between media and politics. Shana lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Paul. You can see more of her work at ShanaWestlake.com, Twitter at @ShanaWestlake and Google+.

About Shana Westlake

Shana Westlake is an independent producer and writer who has worked at ABC News and MSNBC on a wide range of topics including politics, health, finance and lifestyle. She recently received her Master's degree from The New School where she focused on the relationship between media and politics and media management. Shana lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Paul. You can see more of her work at ShanaWestlake.com, Twitter at @ShanaWestlake and Google+.

Obama’s Top Cop Is A Woman (A First!)

With so much going on in Washington lately, from the sequester to gun control legislation to immigration reform, you may have missed the news that, for the first time in the agency’s nearly 150-year history, the Secret Service is being run by a woman. Julia Pierson, 53, took over the top job at the Secret [...]

Is it Finally Time for the Equal Rights Amendment?

The first Women’s History Week was observed in March of 1982. Just a few months later, one of the biggest disappointments of the women’s movement occurred as the Equal Rights Amendment expired when the ratification deadline came and went at the end of June. This Women’s History Month, after an election year where women’s issues [...]

Will a Record Number of Women in Congress Make a Difference?

Will a Record Number of Women Make a Difference in the 113th Congress? With the Inauguration in the rear view mirror, it’s officially time for the 113th Congress and President Obama to get back to work. Women were big winners in the November elections and the current Congress set a new record for female members [...]

Women as Candidates, Women as Symbols

A few weeks ago, the New America Foundation hosted a panel on Women as Candidates, Women as Symbols, moderated by Rebecca Traister of Salon.com. While the event touched on a number of different issues about women in politics (and women as politics), the idea of women as candidates was an ongoing theme throughout the discussion. The panel was well-timed, too, happening [...]

The Reoccurring Theme of Entitlement

Recently, I’ve attended two different events about women in the media. The first was Her Girl Friday‘s “Throw Like a Girl: Pitching the Hell Out of Your Stories.” The other was the New America Foundation‘s panel, “Navigating the Pink Ghetto.” Both looked closely at the gender disparity in the media and how women can get [...]