Lea Sheloush '99: Unpredictable and stressful? Dynamic!

The world of freelancing is not for everyone. The lack of benefits, intense competition and the financial insecurity make it a way of life that many people escape as soon as possible. Lea Sheloush, however, is not one of those people.

Instead of seeing freelancing as unpredictable and stressful, Sheloush, a television producer and writer, said that she enjoys concentrating on a new subject matter every few months. And that’s exactly what she has been doing since she graduated from NYU in 1999. “You work whole-heartedly for three, six or nine months, and at the end you’re exhausted,” Sheloush said about freelance assignments.

But, no matter how draining one project, she is always ready for the next experience. “[Freelancing] lets me explore different aspects of my personality,” she said. “It really is dynamic.”

Her advice for those considering free-lance work? “The most critical thing is networking,” she said, which is exactly how her career began.

In her final week at NYU, Sheloush tracked down Adjunct Professor John DeNatale. She had taken a class with him the year before, and appreciated his teaching immensely. “He very much believes in the teaching of journalism,” she said. “He really, truly believes in the standards.”

She remembered him laughing as she entered his office to take him up on a job offer made during the previous semester. DeNatale, who was then director of programming at MetroChannels, hired Sheloush for her first non-intern job as an associate producer shortly after graduation.

While at MetroChannels for more than a year, Sheloush took part in a variety of tasks for an assortment of shows, including the production of one program called “NY Eats.”

Sheloush spent the next few years working on various shows for WNET, an affiliate of PBS. Every few months she had the chance to try something new. For example, she produced, wrote and edited cover stories for “That Money Show,” a national financial program. Also, she was an associate producer for “Big Ideas,” a four-part national series including interviews with historians and scientists.

In May of 2002, Sheloush took a job as a field producer on HBO’s “Autopsy,” which is a part of the America Undercover series. The five-part series presented criminal cases solved by the use of forensics, as well as interviews with a forensic scientist and a contract killer. “I did everything about death,” Sheloush said.

It was her first long-format programming, and it was a chance to “exhaust the subject matter in a good way.” Sheloush supervised shoots and the crew, managed payroll, supervised post-production, and chose which stories would be used for the show. “It was a tremendous amount of responsibility,” she said. “I’m proud to put it on my resume.”

After working for HBO for almost two-and-a-half years, Sheloush spent time as a producer on a reality design show for 20th Century Television and on a children’s hidden camera show for Nick at Nite.

Since June of 2005, Sheloush has been the show producer for WE’s “Style Me with Rachel Hunter,” an eight-part national reality series. Sheloush is responsible for all aspects of production, and writes, produces and edits half of the series’ episodes. During the field production of the show, she managed a crew of 50 and she was responsible for the national casting search.

Next on Sheloush’s agenda is a move to Philadelphia with her fiancé, but she is not exactly sure what she will do there. She said that she would look for “something creative.”

Sheloush also hopes to make contact with NYU alumni involved with arts/media in the Philadelphia area. You can contact Sheloush at leajennifer27[AT]hotmail.com.

—Joseph Daniel Michener, 06’G