Award-winning show host and filmmaker Keysha Lee to give keynote address at GSPA Awards

Author, business owner, executive producer and filmmaker Keysha Lee will deliver the keynote address to high school journalists and teachers at the Georgia Scholastic Press Association’s Spring Workshop and Awards on Monday, April 11, 2022, at the University of Georgia Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

Keysha Lee

Lee ranks as a Top 100 bestselling author on Amazon with her first book “Keysha Lee Presents Filmmaking 101.” Clayton County Library System offers her book in its collection to patrons at all seven of its branches. Her book also serves as the official text for Kansas City Public School’s Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts.

As a business owner, Lee leads her own media company, Leeway Productions. She stands out in the industry as the youngest black-owned business to gain a partnership with Fulton Films in Georgia.

The best part about being a woman in business for Lee is inspiring all women through representation but especially black women and girls to chase their dreams. “When women see me, they see themselves,” she said. “And that visual creates confidence and the courage to pursue their passion.”

Lee’s roots run deep in Georgia as a native born and raised in the capital city of the Peach State, Atlanta. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication Arts from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She currently serves on the college’s prestigious Alumni Board.

Lee takes pride in the numerous awards and recognitions for her self-titled TV show ““Lessons with Mrs. Lee.” The one nearest and dearest to her heart is the UGA Alumni Association’s 40 under 40 award honoring the best and brightest young alumni. She executive produces and hosts LWML which airs on the DeKalb County education television station. The show’s audience is students in grades 6-12, parents, teachers, and community stakeholders. It gives students an opportunity to gain production skills, practice interviewing techniques, and experience a professional work environment. 

Lee stars in her interview-style television show and has secured several notable guests who share life lessons and their personal formula for success. Her first guest was Connie Seacrest, mother of media mogul and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. Other guests have included Judge Glenda Hatchett of the Emmy-nominated show “Judge Hatchett;” IronE Singleton as T-Dog from AMC’s hit show “The Walking Dead;” Olympic Gold Medalist Angel McCoughtry of the WNBA Atlanta Dream; and Mary Frances Early, UGA’s first African-American graduate.

Lee’s inspiring interview with Mary Frances Early led her to develop the show segment into a documentary film. Her directorial debut of “Lessons from a Living Legend” screened at the Georgia Documentary Film Festival and earned a Best Georgia Film nomination.

“My favorite part of my role as a filmmaker is the creative process,” she said. “It’s thrilling to see and experience ideas go from script to screen ending in a polished professional production.” 

Before her entrepreneurial endeavors, Lee always loved the camera and that’s how she knew she was destined to be in front of one and in the television news business. After becoming a first-generation college graduate, she landed her first television news reporter job in Augusta. Her career has led her to three television news markets and places she never imagined. From covering the story of a dying man whose last wish was to take his wife to the Masters Tournament, reporting live from the Greensboro Airport following the September 11th attacks to interviewing living legends at the reenactment of the Selma to Montgomery March. After seven years of covering the news from Augusta, Winston-Salem to Montgomery, Alabama, she was in pursuit of another dream—becoming an educator and advocate for women and girls by teaching and training them to acquire STEM skills in the TV and film industry. Lee earned a Master’s in Education from Alabama State University to assist with this part of her journey. Currently, she reaches her target audience as a speaker, presenter, teacher, and writer sharing her knowledge and expertise with many clients.

When she’s not in the TV studio, on a film set, presenting programs, or running her business, Lee is spending time with her FamLee-husband Clifton and two sons, Keyton and Samuel.

Registration for the GSPA Spring Workshop and Awards is open through April 4 (or before if event capacity is reached). Visit www.ugagspa.org/workshop-awards for details.