Brad Parks is Vice President of News for CNN’s West and Midwest Region. He oversees the editorial direction and daily operations for CNN’s bureaus and teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Denver. Prior to this role, he spent six years as the network’s Regional Newsgathering Director based in Chicago, leading coverage of major stories across the central and western United States.

Parks has guided reporting teams through some of the country’s most significant breaking news events, including the devastating flooding in Texas, civil unrest in Los Angeles, the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the immigration crisis at the U.S.–Mexico border, and the Covid-19 pandemic. He also led CNN’s Emmy Award-winning coverage from Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd and the trial of Derek Chauvin.

Parks has an extensive background in both programming and field production. During his nearly 20 years at the network, he has played senior roles in producing presidential debates, town halls, and election night coverage.

In 2007, he joined CNN’s “Larry King Live.” As a producer based in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. for King, he spent much of his time in the field, producing interviews with world leaders, celebrities, and newsmakers.

In 2014, Parks was named Senior Broadcast Producer of CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” in New York where he helped lead the day-to-day editorial direction, planning, and broadcast of the show. Since then, he has also worked with the network’s program development team to conceptualize and launch several shows, including “The Messy Truth” with Van Jones.

Parks has traveled extensively for the network, producing in-depth interviews with President Barack Obama at the White House, former President Bill Clinton, former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Prince Albert of Monaco, and the Dalai Lama. He has also produced special coverage and programs on location from Europe, Africa and the Middle East and was among the first CNN producers on the ground in Port-au-Prince following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

A proud California native, Parks began his CNN career as a college intern in the network’s San Francisco bureau. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political economy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in corporate communications from Georgetown University.