Daryn Strauss is a Writers Guild Award–winning writer, producer, and media strategist who has spent the past 15 years working at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and audience behavior, earning over 250 million views across digital, social, live, and television platforms.

She has produced award-winning content and large-scale media experiences for NBCUniversal, Sony Music, PBS, AOL, American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) and leading agencies. Her career spans the full evolution of modern media — from the early days of YouTube to NewFronts, Upfronts, hybrid live events, and multi-platform storytelling.

As a producer, Daryn has worked inside the systems that shape culture and attention, collaborating with industry leaders, platforms, and iconic figures while helping brands navigate moments of media transition. She has written for Emmy-winning series, led record-setting social activations, and produced live experiences at the highest levels of the industry.

Daryn’s journey began in 2009, when she uploaded the first episode of her scripted web series Downsized to YouTube while working as a temp paralegal in New York City after attending UCLA’s screenwriting program. The pioneering series was named to Best of the Web lists by the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Boston Globe, and IndieWire, and earned her first Writers Guild Award nomination. She later won a Writers Guild Award for her comedy series Weight.

As the programming director for PBS’s Emmy-nominated documentary series MAKERS: Women Who Make America, she led the largest social content activation in AOL & PBS history, across multiple platforms, YouTube, social media, and live events, partnering with Gloria Steinem, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, and many other iconic women and women's organizations to reach 40 million video views and trend #1 on Twitter. She also directed the series’ star-studded red carpet premiere at Lincoln Center.

Daryn later served as a strategic advisor to former MTV Chief Judy McGrath, helping launch her digital media company Astronauts Wanted with Sony Music after leaving MTV. There, she created and produced #DAYOFF, a social-first reimagining of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off starring influencers Cameron Dallas, Nash Grier, and Lauren Giraldo.

Daryn has also produced large-scale NewFronts, Upfronts, conferences, and live experiences for clients including NBCUniversal, Sony Music, AOL, PBS, and the 4As, where she oversaw live event production and helped transform its programming from in-person to virtual to hybrid during the pandemic. She also served as the digital producer for the 2017 NBCUniversal Upfront, producing the digital companion experience and livestream from Radio City Music Hall.

Her credits also include writing for the Emmy-winning series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (nearly 100M YouTube views) and creating the award-winning AI social thriller I AM YOU for the Rizzle App during the pandemic.

Today, Daryn advises founders, creative entrepreneurs, and media-driven businesses on how to build scalable video brands rooted in trust, narrative, and long-term audience relationships. Through her work, she helps clients move beyond short-term growth tactics and build long-term media brands.