Photo by Kesha Lambert
“Not everyone will understand your path.”
Cathleen Trigg-Jones is the founder and CEO of iWoman TV, a streaming network that champions the voices of women. She is a producer, actress, and Emmy-award-winning journalist. Cathleen recalls watching Oprah Winfrey in the early days of her news anchoring. Cathleen was enthralled to see a Black woman who didn’t fit the typical profile of a Black woman in the media. “Growing up, I’ve always dreamt of being on television,” she says. “However, it seemed out of reach or an impossible dream for a young girl who started out in an orphanage.” Oprah taught Cathleen the power of authenticity.
Photo by Kesha Lambert
Cathleen describes her mother as her “shero.” She will always be grateful to her mother for adopting her and her brother. “From a very young age, she instilled a strong faith-based value system into me, always leading by example and the epitome of what it means to be a community servant who gives back,” Cathleen says. “In fact, for the past 30 years, she has volunteered at the community nursing home every Sunday to play the piano and sing hymns with the residents who can’t get out to church.”
Photo by SLUSA
Early in 2022, iWoman TV partnered with New York Women in Film & Television to create an online shorts festival for female filmmakers. The winners earned cash prizes and were given the opportunity to be featured on iWoman TV’s Creator Conversations series. In addition, winners were offered an opportunity to distribute their work on iWoman TV. iWoman TV is also currently working on a special project with the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Besides film festival collaborations, iWoman TV is launching the iWoman Film Fund Grant. “We will award grants to female filmmakers in need of financial assistance to finish their projects,” Cathleen says. “This grant will allow more female filmmakers to produce content and empower others.”
Photo by B. Wilson
Inspired by what Oprah did for her, Cathleen strives to inspire young women to dream big. “Buy yourself a pair of blinders and earplugs,” she says. “The blinders will keep you laser-focused on the goals at hand. The earplugs will block out the noise from the ‘well-intentioned’ people who will try and give you a million reasons as to why your dreams will never come to fruition.” Cathleen has followed her dreams with confidence, grit, and drive. “Remember, your dream is just that, your dream,” she says. “Not everyone will understand your path. It’s not for everyone to understand.”
To learn more about Cathleen Trigg-Jones, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. To learn more about iWoman.TV, visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
