Sierra Nizhoni Teller Ornelas (born 1981) (Navajo) is an American

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and weaver from

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. She is one of three co-creators of the scripted NBC (Peacock) comedy series ''

Rutherford Falls ''Rutherford Falls'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on the streaming service Peacock on April 22, 2021. It was created by Ed Helms, Michael Schur, and Sierra Teller Ornelas. In July 2021, the series was renewed for a sec ...

'', alongside

Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom ''The Offic ...

and

Mike Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born 1975) is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series ''The Office'', and co-created ''Parks and Recreation'' with ''Office'' producer Greg Daniels. ...

. Known for writing and production work on shows such as ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'', '' Happy Endings'', ''

Splitting Up Together ''Splitting Up Together'' is an American sitcom developed by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from March 27, 2018, to April 9, 2019. The series stars Jenna Fischer, Oliver Hudson, Bobby Lee, Diane Farr, Lindsay Price, Olivia Keville, Van Crosby, a ...

'', and '' Superstore'', Ornelas has also written and contributed to ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...

'' and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. In 2019 Ornelas signed a multi-year development deal with

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...

, beginning with the

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

sitcom ''Rutherford Falls''.

Early life and education

Ornelas is from Tucson, Arizona. She is Navajo, born to the Edge Water clan. Her maternal grandfather is Water Flowing Together clan and her paternal grandfather is Mexican clan. Ornelas knew as early as second grade that she wanted to write for television. She attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, where she studied media arts.

Career

After graduating from college, Teller Ornelas worked for five years as a film programmer at the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She was inspired to leave that job and pursue her dreams of becoming a television writer by a "big swing" her mother and aunt had made in the 1980s when they spent four years weaving an enormous rug. They sold it for $60,000, which changed their family's lives. Ornelas applied to and was selected in 2010 for the Disney/ABC Television Group's diversity writing program. After this, she gained a position as a staff writer on '' Happy Endings''. She contributed to a sub-plot in which Dave, played by

Zachary Knighton Zachary Andrew Knighton (born October 25, 1978) is an American actor, most widely known for starring as Dave Rose on the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings''. Prior to that, he co-starred as Dr. Bryce Varley on ABC's science fiction series '' Fla ...

, discovers he is one-sixteenth Navajo and begins playing into stereotypes about Native Americans. Ornelas said in a 2011 interview with the ''

Navajo Times The ''Navajo Times'' – known during the early 1980s as ''Navajo Times Today'' – is a newspaper created by the Navajo Tribal Council in 1959; in 1982 it was the first daily newspaper owned and published by a Native American Indian Nation. Now ...

'' that if done right, comedy can be a way to "get conversation going about very dense, complicated issues." Ornelas is committed to gaining diversity in writers' rooms and the media. She,

, and

were co-creators of the series ''

'', which presented its first episode on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in 2021. As showrunner, Ornelas oversees a writers room that includes four other Indigenous writers – Tazbah Chavez, Tai Leclaire,

Jana Schmieding Jana Schmieding is a Native American ( Cheyenne River Lakota) comedian, actor, podcaster, and writer. She is best known for her roles hosting the podcast ''Woman of Size'', and as a writer and actor on the sitcom ''Rutherford Falls'', and an act ...

, and Bobby Wilson. Having five indigenous writers for a series is believed to be a first for a major television production. Her overall deal with Universal Television was renewed in August 2021. In addition to writing and producing, Ornelas is a sixth-generation Navajo weaver. She was commissioned by the

Arizona State Museum The Arizona State Museum (ASM), founded in 1893, was originally a repository for the collection and protection of archaeological resources. Today, however, ASM stores artifacts, exhibits them and provides education and research opportunities. It ...

to make a documentary film, ''A Loom with a View: Modern Navajo Weavers'', which explores the weaving of family members: mother

Barbara Teller Ornelas Barbara Teller Ornelas (born November 26, 1954) (Navajo people, Navajo) is an American weaver in Navajo traditions and techniques. She also is an instructor and author about this art. She has served overseas as a cultural ambassador for the U.S ...

; aunt, Margaret Yazzie; and brother, Micheal Teller Ornelas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ornelas, Sierra Teller Navajo people American television writers Writers from Tucson, Arizona American television producers 1981 births Living people American women television writers American women television producers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers University of Arizona alumni Native American women writers Native American screenwriters Native American filmmakers Showrunners 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women