Hugh Esten
President

For over 20 years, Hugh Esten has been involved in the creation and production of multimedia educational products. His involvement with the field began in the 1980s when he served as a writer and producer of video-based products for Los Angeles-based CD-ROM pioneer Xiphias, Inc. For the last ten years he has served as principal editor of the web site Academy of Achievement (achievement.org), presenting over 200 original video interviews with the world’s leaders in politics, government, business and the arts and sciences, including former U.S Presidents and other chiefs of state, Nobel prize-winning scientists, and many of the world’s leading writers and artists. The Academy is a 501(c)(3) educational foundation, based in Washington, D.C. Prior to and during his involvement with educational media, Mr. Esten has been active in the live theater as a playwright and director; his plays produced in New York include Elmo Dunkel: Soldier of Fortune, All My Three Sons and Jungle Movie. His early theatrical career took him to pre-glasnost Russia, France and the Netherlands. His subsequent work with the Academy of Achievement and other media projects has taken him to Hungary, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. He is a contributing reporter to Classical KUSC’s Arts Alive program, producing and presenting features on the arts in Southern California, with a focus on theater, dance and architecture.