Gena McCarthy is Senior Vice President, Reality & Alternative Programming, of Lifetime Networks.  Based in New York, she oversees Lifetime’s strategy for all development and production of its unscripted programming, including the Emmy® Award-nominated Project Runway and Project Runway All Stars; the breakout hit Dance Moms; and recently announced Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, among others.  Before joining Lifetime in 2010, McCarthy was Senior Vice President, Development and Production, for Discovery Channel, where she managed the creation and execution of all primetime series and specials, including development of Dual Survivor, Auction Kings, Pitchmen and The Colony.  McCarthy also executive produced the hit series Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters and Deadliest Catch in an earlier tenure at the company from 2004 to 2006.  From 2006 to 2008, McCarthy was Vice President, Development and Production, at WE, where she launched series and specials, created the hit My Fair Wedding, developed High School Confidential and oversaw Bridezillas to record growth.  A six-year veteran of TLC Programming and Production units, McCarthy co-developed and executive produced numerous successful series and specials for the network, helping acquire Junkyard Wars and executive produced the final season of Junkyard Mega-Wars, and executive produced TLC’s first successful primetime wedding series, For Better or for Worse.  She also ran critical TLC series, including In a Fix, Mostly True Stories and Faking It.