Some very, very sad news to report on Christmas Eve. Dax Tejera, the executive producer of ABC This Week with George Stephanopoulos, died from a heart attack Friday night.
He was a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday.
Tejera was named executive producer of This Week in February 2020 at the age of 35, just weeks before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. With Tejera leading the way, the newscast quickly climbed to No. 1 among Adults 25-54.
Tejera joined ABC News as a senior producer in the Washington Bureau in 2017 producing remote-anchored broadcasts from across the country and specials from the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore and Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki. Prior to overseeing This Week as its executive producer, Tejera managed newsmaker interviews and covered major breaking news, including the ongoing pandemic, the 2020 presidential election and the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
In addition, Tejera worked on numerous broadcast and streaming special events for ABC News. In September 2021 he co-executive produced Corazón de América – Celebrating Hispanic Culture, a primetime special for ABC that honored the contributions and achievements of the more than 60 million people who claim Latino and Hispanic heritage in the US.. He also served as the ep for primetime streaming election specials leading up to the 2018 midterms and launched shows designed to expand ABC News’ streaming programming, including The Briefing Room, an instant analysis of notable moments in the White House press briefing room.
Prior to joining ABC News, Tejera was the ep of America with Jorge Ramos, and in collaboration with HBO produced a documentary film, Hate Rising, focusing on the rise of white nationalists and the alt-right.
He was previously a producer at MSNBC, helping launch Jansing & Co. and the now-defunct Now with Alex Wagner. He started his career with NBC News, working as an assignment editor and researcher.
We interviewed Tejera last November about This Week, which had made the unlikely climb to No. 1 among the Sunday shows when it came to Adults 25-54. He was incredibly proud of and passionate about the program, the direction of ABC News and the Sunday show genre overall.
Here’s a link to that interview.
Tejera leaves behind his wife, Veronica, and two young daughters, Sofia and Ella.
Here’s a note from ABC News president Kim Godwin to network staff.
ABC News Family,
It’s with a heavy heart and great sadness that we share that our friend and colleague, Dax Tejera passed away suddenly of a heart attack last night.
As EP of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” Dax’s energy, passion and love for that show, ABC News, and you, shined every Sunday morning. That same love was extended to his precious girls.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Veronica, the couple’s two young daughters, and the entire Tejera family.
If you need immediate support, please call our 24/7EAP support line.
We will share more details in the coming days.
On this Christmas Eve, hug your loved ones a little tighter. And please lean on each another.
#oneabcnews
Kim