Marva Smalls
Executive Vice President of Global Inclusion Strategy, MTV Networks
Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief of Staff, Nickelodeon/MTV Kids and Family Group

Marva Smalls is Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Chief of Staff for Nickelodeon, MTVN Kids and Family Group and Executive Vice President of Global Inclusion Strategy, MTV Networks. Smalls works with the leadership of all MTVN brands to champion multiculturalism, inclusiveness and diversity across the company worldwide.  Her role includes the development of the next generation of leaders at MTV Networks and the expansion of MTV Networks’ partnerships with outside organizations.  

As Chief of Staff, Smalls partners closely with the President and COO in directing financial resources, personnel and facilities for their New York, Los Angeles and international offices. Smalls also manages and oversees meetings of the company’s Executive Management Team, a strategic planning group comprised of the senior executives in charge of each network.

An established veteran in the public sector, Smalls oversees all of the pro-social and corporate responsibility initiatives for Nickelodeon, MTVN Kids and Family Group, and its relationships with advocates, government officials, educators, non-profit organizations and trade associations. She has been widely recognized as a force for positive social change, having been honored with NAMIC’s prestigious L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Award.  She has longstanding relationships with public affairs, government, communications and philanthropic organizations on both the state and national level.  Smalls is a leader in developing strategies to combat the growing obesity epidemic with kids by testifying and speaking at governmental and industry forums on the topic.  

Under Smalls’ leadership, Nickelodeon’s pro-social campaigns have been recognized by presidential administrations and supported by top names in the entertainment industry.  Smalls put Nickelodeon’s environmental stake in the ground with The Big Green Help.   She brought Nickelodeon’s Let’s Just Play, an award-winning, multi-media campaign and grassroots effort to encourage more positive, healthy and playful lifestyles, together with The William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association to help reduce childhood obesity.  Smalls spearheaded The Big Help, which empowered 40 million kids to pledge 380 million hours of volunteer service, and was honored with George C. Peabody and Golden CableAce awards.

Ms. Smalls has longstanding relationships with public affairs, government, community-based and philanthropic organizations on both the state and national level.  Prior to joining MTVN in 1993, Ms. Smalls’ career in the public sector included serving as Staff Director of South Carolina’s Private Industry Council for Governor Richard Riley and later as Chief of Staff for South Carolina Congressman Robin Tallon for 10 years.  During her tenure with the Congressman, she acted as a spokesperson and decision maker, independent of and in concert with the Congressman, providing day-to-day oversight of the legislative agenda, committee assignments, scheduling, constituent service activities, and media relations. She was also responsible for the supervision and administration of the Congressman’s subcommittee staff. She was the first African-American to serve as Chief of Staff for a white Southern Member of Congress.

At the South Carolina Private Industry Council, she worked closely with business and industry in creating a partnership for private/public sector employment initiatives. She managed a $40 million budget targeting youth employment programs.   

Smalls has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of South Carolina. She serves on numerous boards of directors including the National Council for Families and Television, the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, CTAM Foundation, Big Brothers - Big Sisters of America, the National Bank of South Carolina, the South Carolina Educational Television Endowment Commission, Medical University of South Carolina and American Theater Wing. Smalls is a recent recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Francis Marion University and Coker College.