Alumni Achievement Award
Ricky Strauss ’88
Los Angeles, California
College of Arts and Sciences


Ricky Strauss has spent more than three decades turning stories into cultural moments, shaping how audiences around the world experience film and television. He began his career at TriStar Pictures, a start that led to senior marketing and production roles at Sony Pictures. As president of Participant Media, he helped guide a company built around socially relevant storytelling, overseeing films like The Help, An Inconvenient Truth, The Cove, and Waiting for Superman. He joined The Walt Disney Studios in 2012 as president of marketing, leading global campaigns for some of the studio's biggest films, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Avengers, Frozen, Moana, and Incredibles 2. He later helped lead the launch of Disney+, serving as president of content and marketing and president of programming for Hulu and Disney+. From 2023 to 2025, he headed global marketing at Apple TV+. He has since turned to consulting, advising global brands including DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation.

At UVM, Ricky graduated Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in English and a theater minor. His studies in storytelling, literature, theater, and art history, along with a semester abroad in Paris, helped lay the foundation for his career in entertainment. He credits a summer internship at TriStar with opening the door to the film industry and has continued to champion experiential learning for UVM students. A lifelong storyteller and lover of the arts, Ricky performed in UVM productions including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. He remains fond of the friendships and creative experiences that shaped his college years.

Established in 1985, the UVM Alumni Association’s Alumni Achievement Award honors alumni whose outstanding achievements have earned recognition at the local, state, or national level.