Geraldine Laybourne was a cable programming pioneer in the 1980s and '90s; she led the team that created Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite. She also served as president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks (1996-1998) where she ran cable programming for the Walt Disney Company and its ABC subsidiary. She founded Oxygen Media which she sold to NBC Universal in 2007.

Her current focus is in the city of Poughkeepsie where she is working with Mass Design on community oriented revitalization projects and is a co-founder of Day One Early Learning Community, a project aimed at creating a model for early learning opportunities for kids zero to four.

She served on the board of directors at JCPenney, Electronic Arts, Symantec, Move.com, Kindercare, and currently serves on the board of directors of 9 Story, Katapult Studios, and Betaworks. She is on the board of Vassar College and is Vice Chairman of the board of Vital Voices.

Geraldine Laybourne was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2020.