Meet the women helping to produce ESPN’s coverage of UEFA Euro 2016

A unique aspect of ESPN’s production team for the UEFA EURO 2016 is the number of women in key behind-the-camera leadership positions.

Producer Beth Chappell’s first soccer event at ESPN was as a feature producer during the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Coordinating producer Gisela Leyva brought 11 straight years of overseeing ESPN Deportes coverage of UEFA Champions League Finals to the EURO 2016 production leadership team.

“We assembled the production crew for this event based on their work ethic, experience with international soccer events, team chemistry, and an unwavering commitment to bringing this event to the viewers at the highest production level,” said Amy Rosenfeld, Senior Coordinating Producer, and the team leader.

Front Row highlights some of the women playing pivotal roles behind-the-camera on ESPN’s presentation of the UEFA European Football Championship 2016.

Beth Chappell, producer

Chappell has worked at ESPN 22 years. The UEFA EURO 2016 is Chappell’s 12th international top-tier soccer tournament at ESPN after her debut as a feature producer during the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

What is your role in ESPN’s UEFA EURO 2016 production?
A member of the senior management team responsible for planning and managing all aspects of content and technical infrastructure. The majority of my responsibilities include helping to manage and supervise all ESPN English-language studio programming and match production.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the ESPN EURO 2016 team?
What I enjoy most about working with the soccer team is that they are equally as passionate about their roles and the broadcasts as they are about the sport of soccer. The majority of the team has worked on the last four major soccer tournaments, so we have become a team in every sense of the word.

These tournaments are somewhat challenging in that the events last over a month. Everyone on our team has such a positive attitude and enjoyment about what we are doing that it shows in every aspect of our production.

Gisela Leyva, coordinating producer, ESPN Deportes

Leyva is an 11-year veteran at ESPN who has overseen ESPN Deportes’ coverage of 11 straight UEFA Champions League Finals. She also had leadership roles on the network’s presentation of key international soccer events including UEFA European Football Championship in 2008 and 2012, FIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2014 and more.

What is your role in ESPN’s UEFA EURO 2016 production?
I supervise all game production for ESPN Deportes. I am also part of the senior production management team for the event on ESPN.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the ESPN EURO 2016 team?
The fact that I was part of the planning team for this tournament from the very beginning – more than 18 months ago. Troubleshooting and finding creative ways to overcome challenging situations is part of my DNA, and I love doing it while working with people who are equally passionate as I am about the product. We will always have challenges, but it is up to you how you approach them.

I enjoy the journey. More so, I have enjoyed the quality of work we have been able to present to our avid soccer fan base on ESPN Deportes.

Christie Dockman, senior director, Management Operations

This is Dockman’s fifth-straight major international soccer event for ESPN, following the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, UEFA EURO 2012 and 2014 FIFA World Cup. She has been with ESPN since 1996.

What is your role in ESPN’s UEFA EURO 2016 production?
I oversee production logistical planning. This includes many different areas such as sourcing local vendors and resources (accommodations, personnel, catering, etc.), event personnel planning and liaising with UEFA’s broadcasting and bookings teams. I work closely with our Remote Operations team to plan our TV compound and overall work schedule while on site. I am also responsible for projecting, planning and tracking the budget for the event. I also work closely with our senior leaders to plan our financial resources and capture all expenses accurately throughout the tournament.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the ESPN EURO 2016 team?
Hands down, the best thing about working on the ESPN EURO 2106 team is the people. Through 18 months of lead-up, through every long day on-site, through every challenge we’ve had to overcome (natural disasters, civil unrest, etc.), the people who work on this project are what makes it so rewarding. We’re a team. There are no egos. Everyone’s voice counts, everyone’s ideas are important. We make one another better. We make one another laugh which is an important component of such a long and challenging event. As leaders, we strive to set a tone that makes people want to do their very best every day for this project. I think we’ve accomplished that.

Sonia Gomez, senior director, Programming and Acquisitions

Sonia Gomez, Senior Director, Programming and Acquisitions, is in her fifth year at ESPN and this is her fifth top-tier international soccer event for the company.

What is your role in ESPN’s UEFA EURO 2016 production?
My role is to manage the UEFA EURO 2016 event and ancillary content across our array of media platforms and to ensure we are meeting all of our obligations with UEFA. I am also responsible for the day-to-day implementation of our multi-platform content strategy – utilizing the right vehicles in our collection of media assets to best serve fans.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the ESPN EURO 2016 team?
Working on Euro 2016 has been one of the best collaborative projects I’ve been a part of in my career. Between Production, SportsCenter, ESPN FC, ESPNFC.com, Sales, Marketing, Legal, and numerous other groups within ESPN, from the start of the planning process, the goal was to bring our viewers and soccer fans as much great content as possible.

Seeing exceptional ideas come to fruition, and the passion and commitment of this team to make this a can’t-miss event for our viewers is something I am really proud to be a part of.

Vanessa Miranda, associate producer, ESPN Deportes

Miranda has worked at ESPN for seven years. This is her fifth marquee international event for ESPN, including the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, 2014 Copa del Rey Final in Valencia, Spain, and the home and away 2011 El Clasico – Barcelona vs. Real Madrid – in Barcelona.

What is your role in ESPN’s UEFA EURO 2016 production?
I am responsible for all Spanish-language studio content originating from France for ESPN Deportes, as well as studio programming for ESPN International networks.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the ESPN EURO 2016 team?
The first few days of the tournament were challenging since we did not have our studio set location on the banks of River Seine ready because of flooding from the river. We worked around it by putting together electronic news-gathering (ENG) and TVU (single operator field production unit) crews for our remote studio segments. This solution enhanced our shows because our hosts and commentators (Andres Agulla, Fernando Palomo and Tato Noriega) were able to file their reports from multiple match locations at the same time. I enjoy the process of being able to do something new such as operating the TVU and working through challenges in my job.

Tara Baker, producer 

Baker, who has worked at ESPN for 10 years, has been a part of all ESPN summer soccer events since the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. UEFA EURO 2016 is her ninth straight international soccer event for ESPN.

What is your role in ESPN’s UEFA EURO 2016 production?
Creative edit manager and producer responsible for post-production for all visual and audio elements in the presentation of EURO 2016 content across ESPN media platforms.

What do you enjoy most about being a part of the ESPN EURO 2016 team?
As an edit team, we have been given creative freedom for design, sound and feel of all of our edited content. Each element is approached as a unique opportunity to tell a story in the most captivating way with visuals, audio and fonts. Our Producers, associate producers, content associates and production assistants have worked tirelessly to develop ideas and guide our content to add creativity to every one of our shows. We partnered with Creative Services and Imaginary Forces to design an edit toolbox that has amplified our look.

The Music Department has cleared a variety of commercial music songs that give us a contemporary yet French feel. Our two writers, Mark Young and Natalie Jowett, have written incredible scripts. We have collaborated with celebrity voiceover artists including Maisie Williams and Mark Strong, in addition to other European-accented voices to add authenticity to our coverage. Our team of editors in Post Group & Content Edit have set the creative bar higher every day, utilizing all of the tools available.

Perhaps the best part of all – our content is being shared with all entities of ESPN to enhance our entire company’s overall presentation of this tournament. Our hard work is being displayed not only during our domestic coverage of the games, but on ESPN Deportes, SportsCenter, ESPN FC on TV, ESPNFC.com and other platforms. It’s been an incredible tournament with stories and stars aplenty, and we have been honored to share our creative content with the world.