America's Public Television Stations

Lonna Thompson is a consultant, regulatory and strategic planning, for America’s Public Television Stations (APTS).

Previously, Thompson was the executive vice president and chief operating officer for APTS. In this role, Thompson supervised the operations of the organization. Additionally, she oversaw APTS’s legal affairs and regulatory work. In 2024, the APTS board of trustees presented the APTS Champion of Public Television Award to Thompson for her work on behalf of public television stations for over three decades.

Thompson has been with APTS since 1994. Before joining APTS, she was a communications lawyer in private practice for 10 years. While in private practice, Thompson represented broadcast and public safety clients. Before entering law, Thompson worked as a university teaching assistant and a high school English and mass media teacher.

Thompson received her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. She also received a master’s degree in communications studies from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and a bachelor's degree in English from Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania.