Dr. Janet Álvarez González is an award-winning investigative journalist, photographer, screenwriter, director, producer, and radio and television personality in the United States and the Caribbean.
Born on February 7, 1965, in Bayamón, she began her career in the late 1980s as a director and producer of talk shows broadcast on PBS, NPR, FOX, and Jay Sears News Services. During that time, she interviewed and photographed prominent figures such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Oliver North, Al Gore, George Allen, Douglas Wilder, and other international personalities.
Later, Janet Álvarez González founded Planet Films and served as head writer supervisor for the television comedy series Caras Vemos, produced and broadcast by Teletica and Univision.
In 2003, she wrote, produced, and co-starred alongside her brother Samuel Álvarez in the three-hour feature film Latin Comedy, a social satire examining how tabloid media manipulate Hispanic communities. Janet Álvarez González also appeared in several segments with legendary Cuban comedian, director, and screenwriter Leopoldo Fernández, famously known as “Tres Patines” and “Superpan.”
Known as “The People’s Advocate,” Dr. Janet Álvarez González founded and hosted the prime-time program Quéjate, broadcast on Nacional Network 11Q and Radio Puerto Rico Network. The program became a public forum for the people of Puerto Rico and featured interviews with leaders including Alejandro García Padilla and Johnny Méndez, among others.
In 2006, she was appointed with the rank of Captain by the Governor of Puerto Rico and served as Public Affairs Officer for the Elite Advisory Group of the Adjutant General for Readiness and Mobilization of the Puerto Rico State Guard. Later, Rick Perry appointed Dr. Janet Álvarez González to the rank of Major, assigning her as Public Affairs Officer to the Adjutant General of the Texas Military Forces until 2016. In 2009, she participated in Operation Lone Star as a documentary filmmaker.
In 2010, Major Janet Álvarez González received the Texas Merit Medal for outstanding service. That same year, she reopened Planet Films LLC in Rowlett, and in 2013 she received the Aspen Award for excellence in film and video production marketing.
On June 29, 2015, the International Association of Entertainment Journalists honored Dr. Janet Álvarez González with the Latin Golden Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism and Film, as well as Best Host for the program Buenos Días Mi Amor.
In 2018, Dr. Janet Álvarez González acted in and served as executive producer of the film Operación Causa Justa, which represented Panama at the Goya Awards in Spain and the Academy Awards. In 2019, she received the Maya Latin Award for her achievements in cinematography and literature, becoming the first Puerto Rican to receive Bolivia’s highest cultural distinction.
Dr. Janet Álvarez González earned a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, a master’s degree in Educational Media from Virginia State University, and a Doctorate in Business Administration specializing in the marketing of Spanish-language television series, along with a postgraduate certificate in International Distribution. In 2022, she completed advanced studies in editing and post-production with DaVinci Resolve at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain.
Dr. Álvarez González has taught communications and marketing at universities around the world. She is currently the Executive Director of Planet Films LLC in Rowlett, Texas, and is presently producing both a documentary film and a dramatic feature project.