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Mara Brock Akil

Mara Brock Akil (BSJ92) was inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement in 2017.

Brock Akil is the CEO at story27 productions and the writer, creator and producer of several hit television series including “Being Mary Jane,” starring Gabrielle Union; “Girlfriends,” which ran for eight years on UPN and The CW; and the “Girlfriends” spinoff “The Game,” which finished its history-making run with 147 episodes and nine seasons on The CW and BET. She is credited with adding an authentic African-American female voice to television offerings. Brock Akil has been a consulting producer for ABC’s sitcom “Cougar Town,” supervising producer and writer on “The Jamie Foxx Show” and writer on “Moesha.”

Brock Akil and her husband Salim run Akil Productions. She wrote and co-produced and he directed the movie “Sparkle,” which featured Whitney Houston in her final big screen performance. In 2018, she produced “Black Lightning” for The CW and created “Love Is ” for Oprah Winfrey Network.