ABC Entertainment Names Brenda Kelly Grant Vice President, Casting

Casting executive Brenda Kelly Grant has returned to ABC as vice president of Casting, announced Ayo Davis, executive vice president, Talent and Casting, ABC Entertainment, to whom she will report. In this role, Grant will lead the casting process on network pilots and series for ABC; help discover emerging talent, and liaise with producers, casting directors and executives on projects.

In making the announcement, Davis said, "Brenda was an incredible asset to ABC during her previous tenure here. She is a wonderful representation of the network, with a keen eye and proven track record when it comes to discovering talent. We're excited to have her back with us and look forward to her invaluable insight and remarkable instincts on projects."

Prior to her return, Grant served as the head of Internal Communications and worked across Operations at Amazon Studios, where she partnered with the COO & co-head of Television strategically planning to scale the business globally while developing innovative and efficient improvements for overall business operations. In addition, she created and spearheaded company-wide motivational employee programs serving to inspire and inform teams throughout Amazon.

As the vice president of Talent and Casting at Disney|ABC Television Group, a position she held since 2014, she oversaw many series including "Grand Hotel," "The Middle," "Criminal Minds," and "Nashville." She was instrumental in casting Zoe Kravitz in "High Fidelity." Additionally, she produced the ABC Discovers: Digital Competition, an online competition for aspiring actors in the United States and the United Kingdom focused on discovering and championing new talent for ABC Network and ABC Studios scripted series.

Before her appointment as the vice president of Talent and Casting, she was serving as the executive director and chief of staff for Anne Sweeney, then co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney|ABC Television Group. Prior to that role, Grant was the executive director, Communications, Disney Channels Worldwide, where she oversaw strategic management of the No. 1 kids channel, Disney Channel, for six years. She also directed press campaigns for several Disney Channel Original Movies, including the Emmy® Award-winning "High School Musical 2" and "Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie," and drove press and publicity outreach for the Emmy Award-winning series "Wizards of Waverly Place" and "JONAS," in addition to working on Disney's Magic of Healthy Living with the "Let's Move!" campaign featuring first lady Michelle Obama.

Before joining Disney, Grant served as manager of public relations at Shepley Winings Hober Public Relations, where she led publicity efforts for television series and served as a personal publicist to a variety of talent.

She holds a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Arizona.

Photo credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin*