Young Storytellers Announces The Jamie Tarses Fund to Honor Legacy of Trailblazing Television Executive

The Los Angeles-based nonprofit Young Storytellers, an organization dedicated to fostering creativity and literacy through mentorship, has officially launched The Jamie Tarses Fund. Established in memory of the visionary television executive and producer who passed away in 2021, the fund serves as a permanent endowment to support the nonprofit’s core mission: providing public school students with the tools to craft, refine, and perform their own original scripts. Tarses, who served as a founding board member, was instrumental in shaping the organization’s trajectory from a grassroots initiative into a cornerstone of arts education in Southern California.

The formal unveiling of the fund is scheduled for October 29 at The Biggest Show, the organization’s annual showcase event hosted at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre. This event brings together students, professional writers, and actors to perform works created through the nonprofit’s signature mentorship programs, serving as both a celebration of student achievement and a tribute to Tarses’ enduring influence on the entertainment industry.

A Career Defined by Creative Vision

To understand the weight of this tribute, one must look at the professional landscape Jamie Tarses navigated during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Tarses began her career in the trenches of the entertainment industry, starting as a talent executive at Saturday Night Live and moving through the casting ranks at Lorimar. Her breakthrough occurred in 1987 when she joined NBC, finding herself at the heart of the network’s “Must See TV” golden era.

During her tenure at NBC, Tarses played a pivotal role in the development of some of the most influential sitcoms in television history, including Friends, Mad About You, Frasier, and NewsRadio. Her ability to identify talent and narrative potential made her a powerhouse within the industry. In 1996, at the age of 32, she shattered a significant glass ceiling by becoming the president of ABC Entertainment, the first woman to lead an entertainment division at a major broadcast network. Under her leadership, ABC launched critically acclaimed and culturally resonant programs such as The Practice, Spin City, Sports Night, and Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place.

Following her executive career, Tarses transitioned into independent production, where she continued to champion unique voices. Her credits as a producer include My Boys, Mad Love, Happy Endings, Franklin & Bash, The Wilds, and the adaptation of The Mysterious Benedict Society. Throughout these transitions, her commitment to the craft of storytelling remained the singular thread connecting her diverse professional achievements.

Chronology of a Partnership

The relationship between Jamie Tarses and Young Storytellers dates back to the organization’s formative years. Founded in 1997 by three film students as a volunteer project at Playa del Rey Elementary School, the nonprofit sought to bridge the gap between Hollywood’s creative resources and the city’s underfunded public school classrooms.

• 1997: The initial pilot program is launched, pairing elementary students with film students for one-on-one scriptwriting mentorship.
• 2003: Young Storytellers formalizes its status as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Jamie Tarses joins the founding board of directors.
• 2003–2010: Tarses serves a seven-year term on the board. During this period, she leverages her extensive industry network to recruit writers’ rooms from her own productions, alongside A-list talent, to volunteer as mentors.
• 2021: Jamie Tarses passes away, prompting the organization to consider a lasting memorial.
• 2024: The Jamie Tarses Fund is formally announced, signaling a new chapter in the nonprofit’s financial sustainability and community outreach.

Data-Driven Impact in Los Angeles Schools

The significance of The Jamie Tarses Fund is best understood through the metrics of the organization’s reach. Young Storytellers has grown from a single classroom initiative into an expansive educational network. As of 2025, the nonprofit coordinates 786 active volunteers who provide weekly mentorship to more than 440 students across 39 distinct public schools and after-school sites in the Los Angeles area.

The model is structured to emphasize the “mentorship” aspect of the creative process. Students engage in one-on-one sessions where they learn the mechanics of dramatic structure, character development, and narrative arc. By the end of the program, these students have completed original scripts. The final stage of the process—the performance—is arguably the most critical. Having professional actors interpret their work on stage provides students with immediate, tangible validation of their creative efforts.

Industry Reflections and Legacy

The establishment of this fund has drawn significant support from the Tarses family and the broader creative community. Matt Tarses, the producer behind Rooster and Bad Monkey and a long-time collaborator of his late sister, noted the personal nature of her commitment to the nonprofit.

“Jamie was never happier than when she was helping writers tell their stories,” Matt Tarses stated. “She had a gift for it and everyone who worked with her benefited tremendously from her guidance. In return, she bullied us into doing the same thing for the kids at Young Storytellers. Of course, it became one of the most joyful and rewarding things I’ve done, as she surely knew it would be. When we were trying to come up with ways to honor her memory, Young Storytellers was the obvious choice.”

This sentiment is echoed by the current leadership of the nonprofit. Jaylene Benggon Chung, Managing Director of Young Storytellers, emphasized that Tarses’ legacy is embedded in the organization’s pedagogical philosophy. “Jamie understood that the most powerful thing you can tell a young person is that their ideas deserve to be taken seriously,” Chung remarked. “She built that belief into this organization, and it is still at the center of everything we do. Because of this fund, the kids who come through our doors will keep feeling her generosity, whether or not they ever learn her name.”

Broader Implications for Arts Education

The launch of an endowed fund in the name of an industry veteran carries implications for how Hollywood interacts with public education. In an era where arts funding in public schools remains historically volatile, private sector support and the endowment of specific programs provide a buffer against budget cuts and shifting administrative priorities.

The Jamie Tarses Fund is designed to provide long-term financial stability for the nonprofit’s operations, ensuring that the organization can maintain its low student-to-mentor ratios and high-quality programming. By anchoring the fund in the memory of a figure like Tarses—who understood both the corporate machinery of network television and the intimate mechanics of a writer’s room—the organization is signaling a commitment to the professional development of the next generation of storytellers.

For students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the fund represents more than just financial support; it represents a continuation of an ethos that prizes original thought. As Young Storytellers continues to expand, the legacy of Jamie Tarses will be reflected in the hundreds of students who, each year, see their scripts brought to life on stage.

Looking Toward the Future

The October 29 event at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre serves as the primary fundraiser to seed the endowment. Supporters, industry peers, and alumni of the program are expected to attend, highlighting the dual nature of the event: a celebration of the nonprofit’s nearly three-decade history and a commitment to its future.

The organization has opened the fund for public contributions via its website, encouraging members of the entertainment industry and the general public to donate. The long-term goal for the fund is to ensure that the “Young Storytellers experience”—characterized by personal mentorship and the validation of student voice—remains accessible to all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

As the entertainment industry continues to evolve, the necessity for programs that cultivate foundational storytelling skills becomes increasingly vital. The Jamie Tarses Fund not only preserves the history of a trailblazing executive but also ensures that the “Must See” talent of tomorrow has a platform to develop today. Through this initiative, the influence of Jamie Tarses will continue to be felt in classrooms, on stages, and, ultimately, in the scripts of the next generation of creative professionals.