Mary Ellen Iwata
Vice President of International Programming and Development, Scripps Networks
30 Minutes with Mary Ellen Iwata, HGTV

As vice president of program development for Home & Garden Television, Mary Ellen Iwata is charged with overseeing all elements of programming development, including strengthening the network's ties to the production community and facilitating new programming ideas. Iwata works with production companies to solicit and develop new program proposals and show ideas, a top priority for HGTV as it looks to build upon recent ratings successes.

Iwata joined HGTV from The Learning Channel (TLC), where she was the vice president of development and special projects. Her previous experience includes program development at TLC, where she also served as executive producer for a number of productions, including the Emmy-winning special Killer Virus and World Birthday.

Iwata joined Discovery Communications in 1989 as an executive producer for Discovery Channel. Prior to joining Discovery, Iwata spent seven years as the executive producer for Evening Magazine at WJZ-TV (CBS) in Baltimore. She also worked as an independent producer for PBS, Fox and Discovery Channel. She began her career at Maryland Public Television.

Iwata is a native of Baltimore and holds a degree in fine arts from Towson University.