Lisa Cortés is an Academy Award® nominated and Emmy-winning Producer and Director. She is renowned for creating challenging, visionary stories and has been distinguished by her commitment to empowering inclusive voices.

 The film Precious (2009), which she executive produced, received the Sundance Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for best drama. Marking the acting debut of Gabourey Sidibe, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards® and won two. 2019’s Emmy-winning, The Apollo, an HBO documentary, explores African American cultural and political history through the story of the legendary Apollo Theater. Her directorial debut, The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion (2019), traces the impact of street fashion and African American creativity on global cultural trends and was recently released on Netflix. Cortés current project,  All In: The Fight For Democracy; which she co-directed with Liz Garbus and produced with Stacey Abrams, Dan Cogan and Garbus was released by Amazon Studios.

Her early career as a music executive was launched at the iconic Def Jam label and Rush Artist Management; she also was VP of Artist & Repertoire at Mercury Records and founded the Loose Cannon label.

Her film productions have received over 70 international awards and nominations.

Cortés is a member of the Producers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She serves on the Boards of Film at Lincoln Center, Independent Television Services (ITVS), Yaddo; the celebrated artists’ community in Saratoga Springs, the Trajal Harrell Dance Company, and the DGA Focus on Women Committee.

She is a graduate of Yale University.