April 18, 2022

Dear Shady Side Community,

I am thrilled to announce that eight-time Emmy winner Bentley Weiner '92 will be the featured speaker at Shady Side Academy's 2022 Senior School Commencement Exercises on Friday, June 3. 

An accomplished and influential producer, Bentley is vice president of HBO Sports Documentaries at the newly formed media company Warner Bros. Discovery, where she leads the development, production, and acquisition of sports films for Home Box Office. Most recently, she oversaw the acclaimed two-part film Tiger, a revealing look at the life and career of golfer Tiger Woods, and the popular big wave surfing series 100 Foot Wave.

Bentley began her career at HBO in 2000, working on the programs On the Record with Bob Costas and Inside the NFL. In 2008, she started producing and directing the groundbreaking documentary series 24/7, profiling athletes such as Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquaio, Tiger Woods, Kelly Slater, and Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the lead-up to some of the biggest events in sports. Under her leadership for a decade, the series won 15 Sports Emmy Awards across an array of categories. Over that same span, Bentley directed several well-received documentaries, including The Many Lives of Nick Buoniconti and Legendary Nights: The Tale of Gatti-Ward. Other notable projects and films she has overseen in recent years include Andre the Giant, Being Serena, Momentum Generation, The Weight of Gold, and Lebron James' unscripted series The Shop.

While a student at Shady Side, Bentley was named Most Valuable Player in both field hockey and lacrosse and graduated holding the girls' lacrosse career scoring record. The Shady Side's girls' lacrosse MVP award is named in her honor: The Bentley Weiner '92 Girls Lacrosse Most Valuable Player Award.  

Bentley holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, where she also played lacrosse. She resides in Manhattan and serves on the board of directors of Reel Works, a program that mentors, inspires, and empowers underserved NYC youth to share their stories through filmmaking and launch successful careers in media and beyond.

We look forward to welcoming Bentley back to campus to join us in celebration of the Class of 2022! 

Sincerely, 

Bart Griffith '93

President