Staff Profile: Ebonye Delaney

Assistant production manager Ebonye Delaney has been in a unique position lately: she’s one of only a few people working from the Arizona PBS building while most staff members are working from home. “It’s weird, but kind of calming,” Ebonye said. “I put up pictures of coworkers I miss, and I can sing and dance in the hallways. Once I’m in the control room, I don’t feel alone: My whole crew calls in to our comms system and we chat all day about different projects.”

Asked to describe her multifaceted role, Ebonye said that the common thread is helping to create TV through visual means. That can include serving as camera operator, director, lighting director, or editor, among other roles.

Ebonye relishes the variety of her job. “My day is different every single day,” she said. She can be found supporting “Arizona Horizon,” working on location shoots for “Plate & Pour,” mentoring student crew members, brainstorming with colleagues for future projects and much more. “It’s always a question of what do I get to do today, and who do I get to impact?”

She even gives tours from time to time. “I love getting to pull back the curtain and show people how television works.”

One particularly memorable experience at Arizona PBS came in September 2018. “I got to see us pull off an incredible tribute to John McCain,” Ebonye said. “That day was crazy, but it really helped me understand the roots of this station in the Arizona community.”

Outside of work, Ebonye says film is her first passion. She’s active in the local film community, and works on local independent films whenever she gets a chance. She’s also close with her family back in Texas. “We were on Skype all the time way before COVID,” she said.

Ebonye said her favorite PBS shows include “Downton Abbey,” “Victoria” and “Nature.” “I especially love ‘Spy in the Wild,’ where they put the cameras in robot animals and get these beautiful shots,” she said. “I also love ‘Art in the 48,’ and I think we have some of the best news coverage around, so when I watch news, I watch ‘PBS NewsHour.’”

This story was originally published in the Summer 2020 issue of Arizona PBS magazine.