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Raised in New Jersey, Shirlyn A. Cesar was a theater kid who performed with her local theater company until the end of high school.  She competed in public speaking and thought acting to be her profession of choice. She followed her dreams to work in the entertainment industry, but not quite the way she originally thought.

A Rutgers University New Brunswick graduate, Shirlyn received her bachelors degree in Communication and minors in Africana Studies and Acting from the School of Communication and Information and Douglass College.  Shirlyn jump-started her entertainment career behind the camera in Los Angeles as an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation intern at Mad Men after receiving a Masters degree in television, radio, and film from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. The internship followed a Student Emmy Award win given by the ATAS Foundation.  

Shirlyn spent the next 12 years contributing to hit scripted content like Blue Bloods, Seven Seconds, and more recently the Emmy® winning #FREERAYSHAWN for Quibi.  Shirlyn has garnered her own Emmy® Award nomination and win on her most notable project Hollywood’s Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story for PBS. The film has amassed phenomenal attention, including a Telly Award win and 2 NAACP Image Award nominations, along with features in ELLE Decor, Architectural Digest, and the LA Times. Shirlyn has recently executive produced docuseries SEEHER Multiplicity, an extension of the SEEHER campaign, which has won her a Gracie Award for Original Online Programming – Video Series National (previously won by First Lady Michelle Obama), two Telly Awards, and recognition from the Shorty Awards. Her latest work can be seen on NAACP Image Award winning season 2 of High on the Hog for Netflix which was released in November 2023. Shirlyn is currently working on her own personal project for PBS and is looking forward to continuing her producing career.