Joanne Friedland Roberts

Producer/Director Joanne Friedland Roberts, has created TV pilots, series, documentaries and digital media for companies and institutions like CBS, PBS, NBC, ABC/Disney, HBO, AOL, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, The Smithsonian, Sesame Workshop and the Brennan Center of Justice. An internet pioneer, Joanne has led 3 start-ups. creating some of the earliest web communities, games and videos for kids and teens.

A former educator, Joanne segued to children’s television in her mid-twenties and was nominated for an Emmy at Children’s Television Workshop. Over the course of her career, Joanne has created three award winning TV series, with wide ranging outreach to schools, museums, historical societies and cultural organizations. Her company, Joanne Roberts Productions, LLC, focuses on telling stories that generate community engagement.

Building on her passion for sharing knowledge and supporting entrepreneurship, Joanne created a Marketplace for women business owners, working closely with WE NYC and the Mayor’s Office for five years helping women launch and grow their own ventures.

Most recently, Joanne produced THE BONACKERS documentary, her directorial debut and first independent film, about the fiercely independent men and women who’ve fished and farmed the land and seas of the East End of Long Island for almost 400 years. Struggling to survive in the mansion-filled Hamptons, they may well be the last of their kind.

THE BONACKERS premiered with much critical acclaim in primetime on PBS station WLIW-TV, and The WNET Group’s Forces of Nature in April, 2025 and is available on PBS Passport, and Kanopy.com. Since January 2026 our documentary has been broadcast on PBS stations across the country. Over the years Joanne has continued to garner top industry awards, helping not-for-profits, government organizations, and companies large and small, shape their stories and build their brands.