Salena Rochester

Salena Rochester is a Peabody Award winning producer and writer. She has produced and developed some of TV’s biggest unscripted series. Ms. Rochester rose the ranks from executive assistant to executive in charge of dozens of series for Bravo, E!, Peacock, and Oxygen. She worked on 1000+ hours of content- The Real Housewives of Atlanta & New York, Married To Medicine, Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard, Mathis Family Matters, Queen’s Court, Who Killed Robert Wone, and Peacock’s multi award- winning documentary The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, among other hit spin-offs and specials. Her series were highly rated with an average of 1-2.5M viewers weekly. With more than a decade of television experience as a network executive, Salena has cultivated strong relationships within the creative and selling community as a buyer. She is adept at developing and producing documentaries, true crime and lifestyle programming for cable and streaming. Ms. Rochester Her previous television experience includes producing programming for Weekend Today, MSNBC’s Election Desk and CNBC’s Fast Money.

Ms. Rochester has a strong passion for telling dynamic scripted stories. She writes and produces film and television projects through her independent production company, Purple Moon Pictures. Most recently producing a short film starring Hill Harper and J. Alphonse Nicholson and developing the feature film with an award-winning writer/director. As a film and TV consultant, Ms. Rochester works with aspiring and established filmmakers to bring ideas from conception to screen. Rochester has also contributed to online and print publications as an entertainment writer and guest lectured at American University. She is on the board of the Black Women Film Network, a member of The Television Academy and enjoys mentoring budding filmmakers and content creators.

Before beginning a career in film and tv, Ms. Rochester was an elementary school teacher and is an alum of Teach For America. She spent years in the classroom providing instruction to students of different abilities. Ms. Rochester often sought out opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom. She directed her students in two Shakespeare productions at the world-renowned Folger Shakespeare Theater in Washington, DC. Rochester created a safe learning environment and provided guidance and support to every student that walked through her door.

Rochester holds a Master of Arts in Film & Television Production & Master at Teaching in Elementary Education from American University and a B.A. in Political Science from Hampton University.