Daily Inspiration: Meet Elise Doganieri

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Doganieri.

Hi Elise, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started in Advertising in NYC after graduating from The Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in Advertising and Graphic Design. I worked in Advertising at some of the top agencies in NYC, Chiat/Day, DDB Needham and Kirshenbaum and Bond. In 1997 I moved to Los Angeles to continue my career in Advertising and be with my fiancé Bertram van Munster who had been living in Los Angeles for about 20 years and was a successful director/producer. I was intrigued by his career and told him an idea I had for a reality competition show. It was inspired by a backpacking trip through Europe with my college roommate and all the adventures we had along the way. The idea was The Amazing Race, a competition where teams of two people race around the world, competing in tasks along the way that are inspired by the local culture and people. We pitched the show to the top networks and CBS was where we found our home! 39 seasons and 15 Emmy’s later we are still racing around the world with the same enthusiasm as our first season!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not always been a smooth road producing a show over the past 25 years, but with every challenge we always find a solution and that is what is exciting. To give you an idea of what it’s like to film The Amazing Race, you have to imagine we film 12- 90 minute episodes over a period of about 25 days while circumnavigating the globe. We film a live sporting event every other day, in all kinds of weather, rain, wind, snow, and desert heat and we don’t stop to reshoot anything, if the camera team misses the shot, they have to keep racing along side the contestants, there are no second takes. We have dealt with canceled flights, delayed trains, broken down buses, monsoons, lightning, snow, wind and sand storms, and pretty much any travel issue you can imagine. We are fortunate to have a talented and experienced production team that is highly skilled, from our producers to our camera crews, months of planning go into each season so we can be prepared for whatever may come our way. As they say in show business, the show must go on, and it does!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the co-creator and executive producer of The Amazing Race. My partner Bertram van Munster and I have a production company and we have been producing The Amazing Race for 39 seasons! We won the first ever Emmy for the Reality Competition category in 2003 and have been fortunate to have won over 15 Emmys for our show. We have traveled to more than 100 countries over the past 25 years. In my position as the Show Runner, I am involved in all aspects of the show. From casting, to laying out the route of countries we travel to and then scout the locations to come up with the challenges our contestants will face when they are racing and then I am on the road for about 3 1/2 weeks filming the series and when I return I am in the editing bay putting the shows together.

I am most proud of creating the series. To have an idea and develop it into a show has been very fulfilling, but I think the most joy I get out of producing The Amazing Race is seeing the contestants experience the world and meet people from all walks of life, its exciting to see their world expanding. I also love how it brings people together, we are always so welcomed in each new city or country, we get to experience the good in the world.. I also love how the show brings people together in their homes, to watch the show as a family or a group of friends, or someone who may not be able to travel, they can experience the world through our show.

What sets our show apart from others is that I like to think our show as a place that brings people from all walks of life together. That even though we may speak different languages, or have different beliefs we are all humans and we just want to be seen and treated with love and respect. I have seen this all around the world and the best gift you can give someone is a warm smile and all of a sudden your world will open up.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
My feeling or definition of success is spending time with loved ones, celebrating life and enjoying each day.
Success is happiness, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s having a place you feel welcome in and a place you get excited to be every day, I feel that way about making the Amazing Race, because it makes people happy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @elisedoganieri
• Facebook: @elisedoganieri
• Twitter: @elisedoganieri

Image Credits
Credit: Elise Doganieri