Biography
of
Terri Dawn Arnold
Biography
of
Terri Dawn Arnold
Terri Dawn Arnold grew up in beautiful, sunny San Diego, California; however, she and her family spent one year in the Philippines. Terri Dawn also lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Terri Dawn earned a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree from Indiana Wesleyan University and attended University of California at Davis where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and minor in African American Studies. She also earned a Professional Clear Teaching Credential and teaches English (writing and literature) to junior high, high school, and college students. In addition, she taught drama, and her students produced an original play.
Terri Dawn is also a writer, producer, and director. She has written books, scripts for television, and screenplays. Terri Dawn is a fourth cousin of Oscar Micheaux, a pioneer African American filmmaker, lecturer, playwright, and author who produced films and published books from 1913-1949. Oscar passed away in 1951 and received a star on Hollywood Boulevard in 1987.
While attending UC Davis, she spent two years as a participant in a non-profit organization called Viewers for Quality Television (VQT). VQT campaigned to keep quality programming on television. Terri Dawn attended the annual convention in Los Angeles, California where she met television actors, producers, writers, network executives and other enthusiastic viewers, attended a taping of a comedy series, and observed panel discussions, including one with entertainment presidents from ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC television networks.
From 1992-1995, Terri Dawn was a member of Viewers Voice, Inc. Viewers Voice campaigned to keep favorite shows of its members on television, not just the ones that fulfilled the definition of quality. She attended the annual convention in Los Angeles, California where she met television actors, producers, writers, other enthusiastic viewers, attended tapings of comedy series’, spent the day on the sets of drama series’, and observed panel discussions. She was quickly appointed as a California Chapter Representative and Daytime Drama Director.
As Daytime Drama Director, Terri Dawn was responsible for forming relationships with soap opera producers and magazine editors. As a result, Viewers Voice received its first national press courtesy of an interview of Terri Dawn in Soap Opera Update Magazine. For the annual conference in Los Angeles, she organized the soap opera panel discussion, which included forming a topic of discussion and questions, inviting panelists, and moderating the panel. The panel discussions were taped and aired on "The Viewers Voice Show," a national public access program (the tapes were 'bicycled' across the country from one local access station to another). After two years, the Viewers Voice Board selected Terri Dawn as a board member, and presented her with an award during the convention banquet. In 2003, Terri Dawn became Daytime Drama Director again.
Terri Dawn founded TDA Entertainment in 2000. She assisted local bands in finding venues to perform, and for one year she managed two bands and three actresses. In 2006 she produced and directed her first screenplay, The Two Sisters.
Terri Dawn Arnold is currently teaching, writing screenplays and books, and coordinating the Women of Film Conference.