About the honoree
Joe Carolei is a TV director/producer with over 30 years of experience. With multiple Emmy, ACE, IFT, and now an International Tille Award to his name, Joe is considered one of the most experienced and versatile television directors. Consistently hailed as innovative, collaborative, and passionate, Carolei has directed for the world’s top media broadcasters.
A sports fanatic, Carolei kicked off his career in the high-pressure field of directing live sporting events with NFL and NCAA Football, NBA, and Championship Boxing. After earning his first Emmy with CBS Sports, FOX recruited Carolei to help change the face of prime-time news with the launch of the network's first news magazine, Front Page. A second Emmy soon followed.
Carolei directed and produced thousands of hours of television across all content formats. His credits include live entertainment, live sports, live streaming, prime-time specials, comedy, talk, gameshows, sitcoms, and reality shows.
From launching the careers of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake with The Mickey Mouse Club, to launching the syndicated rating phenomenon Judge Judi, as well as the first live broadcast of the hit show Man vs. Food. Most recently, Carolei continued to be an impact player, directing and producing The Talk for CBS and receiving multiple Emmy Nominations for Best Director.
“Besides being phenomenally talented, Joe was the perfect guy to work with on my first live show,” said Curtis Colden, Co-Executive Producer of both Big Brother & The Apprentice. Tammy Johnson of Embassy Row Productions added, “The talent loves him, the crew loves him, the execs love him.” Robert Sitrick of Discovery Communications raved, “Joe is my go-to guy.”
Always an Eagles fan, Carolei travels back to his hometown of Philly as often as he can. When he is not cheering for his team, Carolei is on the Board of Directors for the Dream Street Foundation. This charity provides camp experiences for children with terminal and life-threatening diseases (dreamstreetfoundation.org).