Tonya Lewis Lee, Esq. received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in 1988 and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1991. After practicing law at the firm of Nixon Hargrave Devans & Doyle in Washington, D.C., where she primarily serviced Gannett Co., Inc on corporate and First Amendment issues, she turned to writing and producing for television. From 1998 to 2002 she produced Black History Month interstitials for Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite featuring such talents as Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah.

In 2002, she and husband Spike Lee co-authored the children’s book Please Baby Please, illustrated by Kadir Nelson. She also produced the animated Just for Me interstitial Please Baby Please. In 2004, Mrs. Lee was the Executive Producer of the documentary film, I Sit Where I Want: The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education for Noggin/The N, which has received both Beacon and Parent’s Choice Awards. 2004 also saw the release of Mrs. Lee’s first novel, the national bestseller, Gotham Diaries. Mrs. Lee served as Executive Producer for Miracle’s Boys, a television mini-series for Noggin/The N, which garnered widespread critical acclaim in 2005. She followed this with the release of her most recent children’s picture book, Please Puppy Please. Lewis Lee continued to produce award-winning television in 2006 with the three-part TVLand special entitled “That’s What I’m Talking About,” hosted by Wayne Brady.

Outspoken on the issues of women and race, Lee has written for magazines such as Glamour, Gotham, Avenue, and O at Home and appeared on Lifetime television and Good Morning America. She currently serves on the boards of both the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Children for Children Foundation, as well as an advisory board member of The Bearden Foundation. She is a member of the New York Bar.

Lee lives in New York City with her husband and two children, ages 10 and 12.