After earning his television-radio degree from Ithaca College and M.F.A. from William Patterson College of New Jersey, Bill D’Elia organized his own production company in New York and began directing television commercials. Winning numerous industry honors, including Addy, Clio, Telly, and Art Director One Show awards, he turned his directing talents to television and continued his award-winning efforts.

In addition to multiple episodes of Northern Exposure, Bill directed episodes of such Emmy winners as The West Wing, Law and Order, and Picket Fences. As executive producer and director of Chicago Hope, he received two Golden Globe and three Emmy nominations, including one for outstanding directing for a drama series. During the four years Bill was executive producer of Chicago Hope, the show received 33 Emmy nominations.

In 2004 he became a consulting producer/director of The Practice during that show’s final season. Helping David E. Kelley create the characters and settings that would live and work in the fictional law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, Bill then directed the pilot of Boston Legal. From 2005 to 2008, his work on that acclaimed show garnered a Peabody Award and three Emmy nominations: two for outstanding drama series as an executive producer and one for outstanding directing for a drama series. In 2008, Bill was one of the first recipients of the Television Academy Honors, given by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to recognize television with a conscience and achievements in programming that present issues of concern to society in a compelling, emotional, and insightful way.

Though a master of drama, Bill is no stranger to the lighter side of things. In 2003 he directed a short comedy segment for Saturday Night Live titled “Al Gore Visits the West Wing,” which starred the former vice president. Also, an Ally McBeal episode that he directed was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for outstanding directorial achievement in a comedy series.

Bill is currently an admissions volunteer and a three-year member of the Park School of Communications Advisory Committee.