Emily Potthast is an Emmy and Peabody Award–winning Cold Open Producer at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she began her career as an NBC East Coast Page.

Her television pilot, "In the Wrong Lane," got selected for the Houston Comedy Film Festival, the London Vision Film Festival, was a semi-finalist at the Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition, a finalist in the Cannes Film Awards and received an Honorable Mention at the Big Apple Film Festival.
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She is also an active stand-up comedian in New York City, where she held multiple residencies at Broadway Comedy Club. She's performed regularly at The Comic Strip Live and Gotham Comedy Club. In 2024, she was selected to perform at the Ladies Room Comedy Festival.
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In addition to her television work, Emily is the Creative Director at Rolli, an AI platform connecting journalists with expert sources. She also edits the business podcast, Unit Economics.