Board Members

Frank Desiderio, C.S.P., President, Paulist Productions
Desiderio was elected President of the HUMANITAS Prize in 2000. His goal in working with the Prize is to "honor excellence in both aesthetics and ethics." In addition to his work for HUMANITAS, he has served as Executive Producer for both made for television movies and documentary projects. He was Co-Executive Producer for the ABC/Paramount movie entitled Judas, written by Tom Fontana. He is currently working on a documentary that focuses on the healing effects of forgiveness. Other documentary projects include an A&E Investigative Report entitled Healing & Prayer: Power or Placebo and documentaries for The History Channel such as St. Paul: The Man Who Turned The World Upside Down, St. Peter: The Rock, and Judas: Traitor or Friend? Desiderio earned a Master of Arts degree in Communication Management from the USC Annenberg School for Communication. He also holds a Master's degree in Theology from the Catholic University of America. Besides being a priest and a producer, he is also a poet. His poetry has appeared in Prairie Messenger, The Bread of Life, Spring Hill Review and NCR.

Suzanne de Passe, President, de Passe Entertainment
de Passe began her career at Motown as a Creative Assistant to Berry Gordy and subsequently rose to the position of President of Motown Productions. She received an Academy Award nomination for co-writing Lady Sings the Blues. Through de Passe Entertainment Group, she has served as Executive Producer on the multiple award winning mini-series and movies Lonesome Dove, Small Sacrifices, The Jacksons: An American Dream, Buffalo Girls and The Temptations.  de Passe currently serves as Executive Producer of the syndicated program, Showtime at the Apollo.  She was honored with the 2006 Producer of The Year Award from the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors, and was also the recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Humanities during Howard University's 138th Charter Day celebration in 2006.

John Furia, Jr., Founding Chair and Professor, Division of Writing, School of Cinema Arts, University of Southern California
Furia has written extensively for the screen and television and has been a showrunner for several notable series including Kung Fu, Gibbsville and The Dirty Dozen. His distinguished career as a writer and/or producer includes the MOWs and mini-series We Are The Children and The Sun Also Rises. He has served writers and the industry in numerous capacities including, President of the Writers Guild of America, Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and founding vice-president of the HUMANITAS Prize.

Marshall Herskovitz, Partner, The Bedford Falls Company
Writer, Producer, Director Herskovitz began his career as a writer on the TV series Family and The White Shadow.  He went on to collaborate with Edward Zwick on the critically acclaimed and ground breaking television movie about nuclear terrorism Special Bulletin.  After forming The Bedford Falls Company with Edward Zwick, they went on to create thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, and Once and Again.  He received an Academy Award nomination for his work as a producer on the film Traffic. His most recent credit, as a writer, is for the feature film The Last Samurai.  Currently serving as President of the Producers Guild of America, Herskovitz has won three HUMANITAS Prizes.

Arthur Hiller, Film Director
Veteran director of over 30 motion pictures, Hiller has worked in both film and television. He began his career directing live television dramas for the Canadian Broadcasting Company and then NBC. He worked on the critically acclaimed Playhouse 90, Matinee Theatre, Route 66 and Gunsmoke to name a few. He received a Golden Globe Award, as well as an Oscar nomination, for directing Love Story. Hiller has served in various capacities for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences including a stint as President from 1994-1998. He was President of the Directors Guild from 1989-1993.

John Wells , President, John Wells Productions
One of television's most prolific executive producers, directors and writers, Wells’ productions have included ER, The West Wing and Third Watch. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including six Emmys, four George Foster Peabody Awards, three Producers Guild of America Awards, two Golden Globes, nine People's Choice Awards, and a HUMANITAS Prize. He has been involved in numerous feature films through his Warner Bros. based production company including White Oleander, The Good Thief, Duma, Far From Heaven, One Hour Photo, Mrs. Harris, The Notorious Betty Page, Infamous, and A Home at the End of the World.

John Sacret Young, President, Sacret, Inc.
Young co-created, wrote, and executive produced the groundbreaking series, China Beach, for which he received five Emmy and four Writer’s Guild Award nominations.  The WGA honored him with the Award for an episode he also directed.  The past two years The West Wing has brought him two more Emmy and WGA nominations.  In addition, he has earned two Christopher Awards for the Academy Award nominated film Testament and for the film Romero, and as well is the holder of Golden Globe, People's Choice and Peabody Awards.   For the Vietnam mini-series, A Rumor of War, Young was honored with a second WGA Award, and a second HUMANITAS Prize for his original mini-series about the Gulf War, Thanks of a Grateful Nation.  He has also written two highly acclaimed books, REMAINS: Non-Viewable, a memoir published in 2005, and the novel The Weather Tomorrow.

Steven Zaillian, Writer/Director
Zaillian's award winning writing career began with the adaptation of The Falcon and the Snowman.  His directorial debut began with the compelling film Searching for Bobby Fischer, followed by A Civil Action and All the King's Men.  He received his first Academy Award nomination for his screenplay of Awakenings.  In 1993, Zaillian received a HUMANITAS Prize and an Academy Award for the remarkable and moving adaptation of Thomas Keneally's novel Schindler's List, and in 2002, received another nomination for Gangs of New York.

Edward Zwick, Partner, The Bedford Falls Company
Zwick moves deftly between the roles of writer, director and producer.  He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the 1989 critically acclaimed Civil War drama, Glory.  He received his second Golden Globe nomination as a director for Legends of the Fall.  Zwick received an Academy Award as one of the producers of Shakespeare in Love, as well as a second nomination for Traffic.  His most recent project, which he wrote, directed and produced was the feature film The Last Samurai.  He continues to work with his partner, Marshall Herskovitz, at their company Bedford Falls where they created thirtysomething, My So-Called Life and Once and Again.