Rod Roddenberry

Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. (born February 5, 1974) is an American television producer and the chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment. Eugene, the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett, is an executive producer on the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery, set for release in 2017.

Roddenberry was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Majel Barrett and writer and producer Gene Roddenberry, who is best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Eugene went to the John Thomas Dye School in Bel Air and Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood. and then attended Hampshire College in the early 1990s.

As a young man, Roddenberry was not closely familiar with Star Trek, having never even watched it. In 1991, when Roddenberry was 17 years old, his father died, after which he began to more closely examine Star Trek and discover "what made the series special" to its fans. Roddenberry struggled initially with his father's near legendary stature among Star Trek fans, commenting, "A son cannot identify with a mythical figure; my father was put up on this pedestal throughout my life." However, as Roddenberry heard many moving stories about his father's flaws and follies, he observed, "That allowed me, as a son, not just to connect with him, but actually love him."

Roddenberry, with his wife, Heidi.

In 2001, Roddenberry became chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment, which builds upon his father's work, and develops multimedia science fiction properties including comics, television and film projects, including the television documentary Trek Nation, which debuted on Science in November 2011.

In mid-2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that Roddenberry approved of the 2009 Star Trek film by J. J. Abrams. Roddenberry opined that the producers and writers "made Star Trek cool again" with the film.

In November 2011, Science premiered Trek Nation, a Roddenberry Entertainment documentary that Roddenberry both produced and starred in, which chronicles his 10-year journey to explore his father's life. The undertaking inspired him to fully embrace the vision Gene Roddenberry had for the future, which he expressed through the founding of The Roddenberry Foundation in 2010. The Roddenberry Foundation funds innovative solutions to critical global issues in science and technology, the environment, education and humanitarian advances.

In October 2011, The Roddenberry Foundation, which was founded by Rod Roddenberry, made its largest gift of $5 million to the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco to establish the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine. The Roddenberry Foundation believes that the center's innovative technology that converts adult skin cells into life-changing stem cells will radically advance the fight against Alzheimer's and heart disease.

In 2010, Roddenberry, an avid scuba diver since 1993, founded the Roddenberry Dive Team, to allow people "to embark on undersea experiences and discover the diversity beneath the ocean." Roddenberry leads the dive team in its exploration of underwater worlds and hopes to inspire stewardship of the world's oceans. Roddenberry, who holds a Divemaster certification, has led or participated in more than 1,000 dives from exotic locations around the world.

On March 3, 2016, it was announced that Roddenberry and Trevor Roth, chief operating officer of Roddenberry Entertainment, would join the upcoming Star Trek television series as executive producers.