Remembering Dax Tejera, the Off-Screen Hero of ABC's 'This Week,' After Sudden Christmas Weekend Death
ABC/Pawel Kaminski
The winter holidays came with a wave of grief at ABC News, when word spread that Dax Tejera, executive producer of This Week with George Stephanopoulos, died suddenly of a heart attack on Dec. 23. He was 37.
In the nearly three years that Tejera helmed This Week, he quietly reinvented the show, turning a once-straggling political broadcast into a Sunday morning sensation — and giving its more established network competitors a run for the number one slot. (Tejera's final broadcast on Dec. 18 beat out NBC's Meet the Press and CBS' Face the Nation in total viewers, a testament to the inroads This Week made with Americans under his leadership.)
Tejera, freshly 35 at the time, stepped into the top role at This Week in February 2020. He'd initially worked on the show as a senior producer, hot on the heels of his stint executive producing America with Jorge Ramos.
Experienced enough to steer the ship with confidence and ambitious enough to throw tradition out the window, Tejera quickly found his groove, becoming the face of broadcast media's future.
"Despite his age, he was already one of the most talented news producers in America," Univision anchor Jorge Ramos tells PEOPLE of his former colleague. "Nothing seemed impossible for him."
RELATED: Dax Tejera, Executive Producer of ABC's This Week, Dead at 37
ABC/Lorenzo Bevilaqua
"Dax and I got on so well because he liked to take big swings — he was able to lead his team to evolve the Sunday morning format and get out of the beltway and really speak to and hear from everyday people around the world," says Catherine McKenzie, executive producer of GMA3.
Since 2020, This Week has made a concerted effort to get on the ground more and understand perspectives beyond those of politicians. Anchors have done everything from driving cross-country to speak with voters, to hosting shows in Ukraine amid Russia's invasion, to visiting divisive regions like Texas' southern border and the increasingly purple state of Arizona.
The real-people approach to political journalism clearly worked — when Tejera took over, This Week was ranked No. 3 among the Sunday newscasts. Last season, for the first time in seven years, the broadcast ranked No. 1 among adults aged 25-54.
ABC/Heidi Gutman Dax Tejera
Beyond his daily duties, Tejera — who was Latino — championed diversity efforts across all ABC News programming.
"The same passion he had for This Week, he also had for our cultural specials — not only co-executive producing our Hispanic Heritage Month specials, but also working on our Juneteenth special," says McKenzie. "It was important to him that just like on the roundtable, all our network coverage includes voices from all walks of life."
"As an Afro-Latino, to see another Latino join our executive producer ranks made me proud — you have to see it to believe it," she adds. "Dax was an example that no job is out of reach and that you can advocate for your community while also being the best in the business."
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And in a cutthroat industry, Tejera made others feel cared for. Kendall Heath, senior producer of This Week, tells PEOPLE he led the team "with a passion that was unparalleled, setting an exceptionally high bar that pushed us all to be better."
"He championed the professional growth and celebrated the personal milestones of every member of our team," she adds.
Stephanie Honikel Dax Tejera with his wife, Veronica, and two young daughters
"His formula was simple: he worked harder than anyone else," Ramos says. "But he also created a beautiful life for him, for his wife, Veronica, and their two daughters. He never took that balance for granted."
Tejera and his wife, Washington Post producer Veronica Bautista, welcomed their first daughter, Sofia, in November 2020. Their younger daughter, Ella, turns 6 months old on New Year's Day.
"He adored his family and he loved his work," This Week co-anchor Johnathan Karl wrote on Instagram on Christmas Eve. "Dax had big plans and big dreams that were just beginning to be fulfilled. Death has taken him like a thief in the night, leaving those of us touched by Dax shocked and hurt — and cheated to lose him so soon, so suddenly, so inexplicably."
Co-anchor Martha Raddatz also paid tribute, writing, "He was so good to all of us. But his real loves were his wife Veronica and 2-year-old Sofia and 6 month old Ella. Please keep them in your prayers. I am heartbroken."
"It was my honor to work with him and to be one of his friends," Ramos tells PEOPLE. "Ya lo estoy extrañando."
