She’s a soap icon and a changemaker. Tonya Williams joins Janette to reveal how she went from Young & the Restless to revolutionizing Canadian film with Reelworld.
In this powerful episode of Janette’s TV Podcast, Janette chats with legendary actress, producer, and activist Tonya Williams. Best known for her groundbreaking role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on The Young & the Restless, Tonya opens up about the journey that led her to found the Reelworld Foundation—one of Canada’s leading platforms for championing BIPOC voices in film and television.
From early days on Polka Dot Door to winning NAACP Image Awards and launching Access Reelworld, Tonya shares how her lived experiences, artistic choices, and unshakable drive to open doors for others shaped her legacy on both sides of the camera.
Whether you're an artist, activist, or audience member, this candid conversation will leave you inspired and empowered to raise your voice, challenge the system, and make room for the stories that matter.
🔔 Subscribe for more powerful interviews with trailblazers across entertainment, lifestyle, and social change.
🎙️ Watch Now: YouTube.com/JanettesTVPodcast
📲 Listen on Spotify: Spotify.com/JanettesTVPodcast
🎞️ More About Tonya: Reelworld.ca
💻 Follow Janette: Instagram.com/JanetteBurke | LinkedIn.com/in/JanetteBurke
Follow Tonya on Instagram - Instagram
the Vaughan International Film Festival (VFF) 2025 Red Carpet Awards Gala
www.vaughanfilmfestival.com
Sign up to become a member of Janette's TV Youtube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/@JanettesTV/videos
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com