Bonnie Bernstein is recognized by the American Sportscasters Association as one of the most accomplished female journalists in her field. Bernstein is the Founder & CEO of Walk Swiftly Productions, her latest endeavor in an Emmy Award-winning career that has spanned nearly two decades on-air with ESPN and CBS covering the NFL, NBA, MLB and college football and basketball. Her critically acclaimed series, She Got Game: Inspiring Women, Inspired by Sports, is distributed exclusively by Audible, with Bernstein serving as the creator, executive producer, and host. Bernstein collaborates with some of sports’ most prominent organizations, including the NCAA and the College Football Playoff (CFP), with recent WSP credits include the XFL’s signature series, “For the Love of Football,” ESPN’s award-winning esports docuseries, GOOD GAME, and CMT’s multi-platform profile series Country on Campus. Bernstein is a seasoned corporate speaker and industry event panelist and has served as a guest commentator for several news networks, including NBC, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel. Additionally, she is the only female to solo host the award-winning radio program, The Dan Patrick Show.
Prior to her foray into entrepreneurship, Bernstein developed her executive chops as Vice President, Content and Brand Development for Campus Insiders. This followed six years with the ESPN family in a variety of hosting roles, including NFL Live, Outside the Lines, Jim Rome is Burning and First Take, as well as New York Football Live on ESPN Radio in New York. Bernstein also patrolled the sidelines for Sunday Night Baseball and ESPN on ABC College Football; hosted the Pro Gymnastics Challenge; and created, executive produced and hosted a series for espnW showcasing prominent women who were competitive athletes in their youth.
Bernstein’s career blossomed at CBS Sports, where she was the Lead Reporter for the NFL and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships. She contributed features for The NFL Today; hosted the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships as well as the Network’s Emmy-nominated anthology series, Championships of the NCAA; and anchored CBS’ studio shows, SportsDesk and At the Half. Track and field, figure skating, and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships rounded out her assignments at the Network. During Super Bowl XXXVIII, Bernstein became the first sideline reporter to serve as both a network TV (CBS) and network radio (Westwood One) correspondent on the same broadcast.
Bernstein first joined ESPN in 1995 as its Chicago Bureau Chief, where she covered Michael Jordan and the Bulls’ second historic “three-peat.” She was part of the Emmy-winning team filing game reports and features for SportsCenter, with additional contributions to Baseball Tonight, NFL Countdown and College GameDay.
In 1993, Bernstein made local television history at KRNV-TV in Reno, NV (NBC), as the “Biggest Little City’s” first-ever female weekday sports anchor. She began her television career at WMDT-TV (ABC) in Salisbury, MD, anchoring weekend news, and broke into broadcasting in radio as the News and Sports Director for WXJN-FM in Lewes, DE.
Outside of broadcasting, Bernstein is a passionate public health advocate, with a focus on youth health and wellness. She is the Advisory Board Co-Chair for Every Kid Sports and joins such notables as Jillian Michaels and Rachel Ray as a member of the Celebrity Ambassador Team for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Bernstein has served as a National Ambassador for ING KiDS Rock and co-chaired the committee supporting the Congressionally chartered National Foundation on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, which generates private funds for childhood obesity initiatives. Additionally, Bernstein is the Co-National Spokesperson for the Coalition to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis. Since surviving near-fatal blood clots in 2006, she has canvassed the country promoting DVT education and awareness and helped influence federal DVT legislation and a “call to action” issued by the U.S. Surgeon General.
Numerous publications have documented Bernstein’s work, including The New York Times, Newsday, Sports Business Journal, Sports Illustrated, TV Guide and USA Today, and lifestyle magazines such as Allure, Glamour, Self, Men’s Health, and Celebrity Living. She has received Pop Warner’s “Female Achievement Award” for serving as a positive role model for kids, and has been named to New York Moves Magazine’s “Power Women” list, as well as Jewish Women International’s “Women to Watch” list, an exclusive group selected from the United States, Canada and Israel for their professional achievements.
Bernstein graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Maryland’s prestigious Merrill College of Journalism. She is a long-serving member of the College’s Board of Visitors and a past advisor for the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism. While at College Park, Bernstein was an Academic All-American (gymnastics) and received the Thomas M. Fields Award for academic and athletic excellence.
Bernstein was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and grew up in Howell, N.J. She presently resides in New York City.
