Full Bio
Sandra Evers-Manly
Sandra J. Evers-Manly is a visionary leader whose influence spans corporate leadership, film, philanthropy, and civil rights advocacy. An Emmy Award winning producer and the founder and President of the Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC), she has dedicated her life to advancing equity, preserving Black history, advocating for diversity and inclusion in Hollywood, and beyond.
She is a founding donor of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. A graduate of the University of Southern California and a Wharton’s Executive Management Program. Evers-Manly began her professional career at Northrop Grumman, as a summer intern which evolved into a distinguished 40-year career.
She served as Vice President of Global Corporate Responsibility and Founding President of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. Her leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including USC’s Alumni Merit Award, the USC Black Alumni Association’s Outstanding Alumnae Award, The Memorial Foundation’s MLK Leadership Award, The Brotherhood Crusade Pioneer of African American Achievement Honoree, and Savoy Magazine’s designation as one of the Most Powerful Black Women in Corporate America. She also served for 12 years as President of the Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP and was instrumental in helping to bring the NAACP Image Awards to television.
In 1996, Evers-Manly founded BHERC to advocate for Black representation in film and television and provide educational programs, scholarships, and advocacy for Black and other diverse filmmakers. Its acclaimed film festivals—including Sistas Are Doing It For Themselves, REEL Black Men and the S. E. Manly African American Short Film Festival —have helped support and launch the careers of a number of filmmakers. She also created the First Weekend Club, mobilizing audiences to support Black representation and other diverse films and talent, at the box office. As an executive producer, Evers-Manly helped make history with Last Breeze of Summer, the first Academy Award–nominated short film directed by an African American. Her producing credits include Emmy-winning The Hunt for Planet B, Into the Unknown, Ferguson Rises, Agents of Change, and Deep Sky to name a few. In 2023, she directed her first documentary, Tolliver’s Barbershop, celebrating a historic Los Angeles institution, and serves as an Executive Producer of the W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With A Cause Documentary which will air in 2026 on PBS.
A lifelong advocate for justice, she played a key role in the 2024 exoneration of the Port Chicago 50 and was recognized for advocating for the African American servicemen who served there during World War II. Through BHERC’s Operation Love initiative, she continues to support nearly 200 Altadena seniors displaced by the Eaton wildfires. She authored her first Children’s Book, Raised Up By Mrs. Manly and Her Letter L’s, in 2018 and will release two new books later this year, Charity Adams: Commanding Officer of the 6888th, and One Smile At Time. A devoted mentor, Sandra Evers-Manly’s legacy is defined by faith, humility, and an unwavering commitment to community empowerment.
The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center, a nonprofit, public benefit organization, designed to advocate, educate, research, develop, and preserve the history, and the future of Black images in the film and television industry.
