Texas State University-San Marcos

STUDIES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Mr. Jeff Valdez

Co-Founder/Chairman, Si TV

October 19, 2004

Born in the housing projects of Pueblo, Colorado, the youngest of nine children, Jeff Valdez first tried his hand at stand-up comedy before spending eleven years running his own comedy club in Colorado Springs. One of the first to recognize that Latinos wanted to see themselves in English-language TV programs beyond the traditional Spanish-speaking stations, Valdez created, hosted, and produced the local Los Angeles TV series “Comedy Compadres” and a myriad of other projects, leading the Los Angeles Times to dub him “the Ed Sullivan of Latino talent.” In 1996 Valdez joined forces with venture capitalist Bruce Barshop and started the San Antonio-based “Latino Laugh Festival,” a star-studded multi-day event that was soon picked up by Showtime.

In 1997, following an executive post at Tri-Star Television where he created and co-executive produced two NBC pilots, Valdez co-founded Si TV, which would soon become the leading producer of Latino, English-language programming. Its output initially included the talk show “Café Olé with Giselle Fernandez,” the stand-up showcase “Funny is Funny!” and “The Brothers Garcia,” a Nickelodeon hit series which Valdez co-created and executive produced.

Among some of his many honors and awards, Valdez was appointed by President Clinton to the Advisory Committee on the Arts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in 2000 the American Museum of the Moving Image elected Valdez to its Board of Trustees, and in 2000, the Latino Entertainment Media Institute (LEMI) honored Valdez with the Vision Award in recognition of his efforts to increase the roles of Latinos in the entertainment industry.