Dawn Lee Williamson

Dawn Lee Williamson is vice president of CNN Advertising Sales. In this role, she is responsible for national ad sales and multi-platform sponsorships across CNN, HLN and CNN en Español. Williamson spearheads all Hispanic business as leader of CNNE sales, part of CNN Advantage, the in-house sales and marketing unit devoted to multicultural and diverse communities. The group aims to raise awareness within the marketplace of opportunities for advertising partners to reach all communities through relevant CNN content. She has successfully led her New York-based sales team in selling some of CNN’s largest programming initiatives – including CNN Heroes, Fit Nation, Black In America and Latino in America – and has brought CNNE Sales to new heights. Under her purview, CNNE Sales coordinated the first ever Spanish-language iReport integrated opportunity, and garnered new advertisers from emerging categories, which has contributed largely to the group’s consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth. Dawn also collaborates with CNN International sales to establish worldwide alliances and secure domestic partnerships from foreign clients.

Williamson joined Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. in 2000, working first with Cartoon Network and CartoonNetwork.com, where she played an integral role in the launch of Adult Swim sales, and then transitioning to the news division in 2008. She began her career in media, however, on the other side of the desk, working for two of the largest media agencies, TN Media (now Initiative) and OMD, as well as CBS.

Williamson holds a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies/Economics from New York University. She is a member of the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and a graduate of the NAMIC Executive Leadership Program at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Williamson is also a member of Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT), was honored with a nomination for the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), and serves as executive sponsor of Turner Asia, a Business Resource Group for Turner employees. She resides in New Jersey with her husband and two children.