Michelle Strong is Sr. Director, National Accounts for Disney and ESPN Media Networks. Michelle manages several accounts including Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. In addition, Michelle is responsible for securing long-term distribution deals for Disney and ESPN Media Network’s portfolio of 30+ services.
Prior to joining Disney and ESPN Media Networks, Michelle worked in BET’s Affiliate Sales and Marketing department. There, she began as an Affiliate Relations Manager and was promoted consistently over a 6 year period leaving the company as a VP of Affiliate Sales. While at BET, Michelle was responsible for contract management of the top 10 cable and satellite providers and she assessed industry trends and developed new business development concepts primarily for Broadband.
Michelle began her career in 1995 with Comcast Cable as a Sales Assistant in the Local Ad Sales department. In less than a year, Michelle was quickly promoted to Account Executive. While at Comcast Cable, Michelle helped numerous local businesses grow through the power of cable advertising by managing advertising schedules for small businesses and agencies in the Richmond DMA.
Michelle has a B.A. in Communications from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VA Tech) and is currently pursuing an MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
Passionate about continued education and leadership development, Michelle has completed both the NAMIC Executive Leadership Development program and the CTAM Executive Management Program. Recently, Michelle was selected as a Fellow for WICT’s nationally recognized Betsy Magness Leadership Institute program.
Michelle and her husband Richard reside in NYC with their dog (Pedro).