Young Storytellers, a nonprofit organization focused on writing development in Los Angeles public schools, has created the Jamie Tarses Fund as a memorial to the influential television executive. The fund will provide financial support for the organization’s ongoing operations and programs.
The nonprofit recruits volunteers from the entertainment industry and other professionals with writing experience to mentor students in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout Los Angeles. The program connects mentors with students to develop short stories that are performed on stage by actors at the conclusion of each school’s session. In 2025, the organization engaged 786 volunteers who worked with more than 440 students weekly across 39 public schools and after-school locations.
Tarses served as a creative executive at NBC before being recruited to ABC, where she became the first woman to lead entertainment at a major broadcast network. She passed away in 2021 at age 56 and had been involved with Young Storytellers since its early years, joining the board in 2003. Matt Tarses, an accomplished writer-producer and Jamie’s brother, described the fund’s establishment as an appropriate way to commemorate her legacy and noted that his sister was particularly passionate about supporting emerging writers.
The Jamie Tarses Fund will be officially presented during this year’s “The Biggest Show,” an annual fundraiser held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre that showcases stories created through the organization’s school programs. Jaylene Benggon Chung, managing director of Young Storytellers, emphasized that Tarses believed young people’s ideas warranted serious consideration and that this principle remains central to the organization’s mission. Additionally, Young Storytellers appointed Kevin Bolling as its new executive director, following previous roles at the Secular Student Alliance and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI