WASHINGTON – February 4, 2026 – America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) today announced the election of its board leaders and board members.
- Dolores Fernandez Alonso, President and CEO of South Florida PBS, Miami, Florida, has been re-elected Chair.
- Adrienne Fairwell, President and CEO of South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV), Columbia, South Carolina, has been re-elected Professional Vice Chair.
- Susan Reardon, Lay Trustee of PBS SoCal, Los Angeles, California, has been elected Lay Vice Chair.
The newly elected trustees are:
- Andrew Batt, Executive Director and General Manager of Iowa PBS, Johnston, Iowa
- Dana Elmquist, Lay Delegate of New Mexico PBS, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Dan Griffith, Lay Delegate of KET, Lexington, Kentucky
- Rick Schneider, President and CEO of Maine Public, Lewiston, Maine
- David Tang, Lay Delegate of WXXI Public Media, Rochester, New York
The re-elected trustee is:
- Anthony Padgett, General Manager of WOSU Public Media, Columbus, Ohio
Dana Elmquist began his term on January 7, 2026, filling an unexpired term vacancy on the board. The other officers and trustees will begin their terms on March 2, 2026.
Following is background on the board officers:
Dolores Fernandez Alonso
Dolores Fernandez Alonso serves as the President and CEO of South Florida PBS (SFPBS), the merged organization that brings together WPBT and WXEL to collectively represent the 7th largest TV market in the United States. She is one of the first women in the public television system to have led a station merger. In addition, she launched the 24/7 Health Channel and quadrupled the size of the South Florida PBS endowment. Fernandez Alonso is a visionary and a leader in NEXTGEN TV and immersive media, preparing her stations to meet the demands of ATSC 3.0 and ensuring that South Florida PBS was a part of the Miami NEXTGEN TV launch that occurred in January 2023. Her leadership has resulted in the creation of Emmy award-winning 360-degree content and educational apps. Her vision for leveraging technology and innovative fundraising prompted her to launch an immersive experience in 2024, which has proven highly successful in generating net revenue through mission-driven fundraising. Building on this success, SFPBS has since launched two additional immersive experiences with equal if not greater success. Through her solid stewardship, she secured the funding for the expansion of the SFPBS studios in Palm Beach County, culminating in the opening of the Cornelia T. Bailey Cultural Arts Center in January 2026, which includes an immersive igloo for experiential learning opportunities for the South Florida community. Fernandez Alonso began her television career in 1990 at the international newsgathering division of Disney/ABC News Inc. - Worldwide Television News in New York, NY. In 1998, she joined WPBT2 as Vice President for Facilities Services where she was responsible for the for-profit activities. She was promoted to Station Manager in 2002 and to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2003. As a proud bilingual Hispanic, Fernandez Alonso earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Literature from Columbia University and a master’s in business administration from the University of Miami.
Adrienne Fairwell
Adrienne Fairwell is the seventh President and CEO in the history of South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV). SCETV is a dual licensee station that is also home to SC Public Radio. Both stations have been trusted community resources for more than six decades. SCETV is the state’s public educational broadcasting network and amplifies South Carolina voices, provides educational experiences and strengthens communities while working to create a stronger, more connected and informed South Carolina. SCETV’s 11 television stations provide 33,818 hours of educational programs each year on four channels, while SC Public Radio broadcasts two different formats over eight transmitters. Earlier in her career, Fairwell was Assistant General Manager of SCETV, overseeing brand management, promotional and advertising efforts, public relations, audience engagement, revenue activities, partnership development, multi-platform content generation, studio and field production, local and national programming, broadcast programming, traffic, and government transparency work. Fairwell then served as the General Manager for Arizona PBS, where she led the station through its transition into a multiplatform public media organization, doubling down on its digital-only/first productions and podcasts; multiplied philanthropic giving; and created long-term community partnerships to generate revenue and foster collaboration. Fairwell assisted in creating education content for national use and distribution through the station’s education outreach team. Fairwell holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in human resources development from Webster University and has earned the internationally recognized accreditation in public relations (APR) designation and the certified public manager professional designation. Fairwell is civically engaged, and she and her husband, Michael, share two children.
Susan Reardon
Susan Erburu Reardon is Principal of True North Charitable Advising, which she established in 2022 to provide philanthropic advice to individuals and consulting services to nonprofit organizations, with a particular focus on arts and culture and public media organizations. Reardon was a nonprofit executive for 15 years with KCET, the independent community public television resource for Southern and Central California (now part of PBS SoCal). Reardon held several positions with KCET including Executive Vice President and General Counsel, and Chief Development Officer. After KCET, Reardon served as Director, Gift Planning of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (LA Phil). Reardon is a current member in good standing of the California State Bar, and has 46 years of experience as an attorney, including with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she practiced law for 17 years and was a firm litigation partner for seven years. She has served as a trustee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) and as Chair of LACBA’s Corporate Law Department Section. She is a current member of the Los Angeles Council of Charitable Gift Planners (LACGP) and the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners. Reardon graduated with her A.B. in History magna cum laude from Radcliffe College (Harvard University) in 1977 and received her J.D. in 1980 from Harvard Law School. She completed all course work in the Certified Specialist in Planned Giving program in 2015. As of 2023, she completed all course work and received certification from the American College of Financial Services as a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP). Reardon and her husband George are longtime residents of South Pasadena, California and have a summer home in Stonington, Maine. They have two adult children and two granddaughters.
Following is background on the newly elected board members:
Andrew Batt
Andrew Batt serves as Executive Director and General Manager of Iowa PBS, Iowa’s statewide public media network. He leads the organization’s four broadcast channels and expanding digital platforms, advancing its mission to educate, inform and inspire Iowans through trusted journalism, lifelong learning and community engagement.
Batt is a strong advocate for public media and public service journalism. He works closely with local officials, state legislators and Iowa’s congressional delegation to demonstrate the essential role of public broadcasting in rural education, civic life and emergency communications. His leadership emphasizes collaboration among public and private partners to strengthen statewide impact.
A veteran public media journalist, Batt has more than two decades of experience covering politics, policy and rural affairs — and working alongside campaign and legislative staff across Iowa, the Midwest, and nationally. He has directed award-winning productions including Iowa Press and the award-winning documentary “Caucus Iowa: Journey to the Presidency.” He has also led ongoing development of Market to Market, Iowa PBS’s nationally distributed program on agriculture and the rural economy, bringing attention to the challenges and innovations shaping rural life. His leadership spans legislative sessions, gubernatorial administrations and every major presidential caucus cycle of the past 20 years, as well as national political campaigns and debates.
A native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Batt earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication, with a minor in political science, from Iowa State University, and a master’s degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
Dana Elmquist
Dana Elmquist is a public media strategist, social impact entrepreneur and educator with over two decades of experience advancing mission-driven innovation across PBS, NPR and nonprofit institutions.
Elmquist currently serves as CEO of Intempio, a digital engagement platform supporting partners in healthcare, government and education, and as Strategic Advisor to the Board and CEO of Libsyn, the world’s largest podcast publisher.
A former Co-Founder of Fieldcast, Elmquist built the world’s largest private podcast and production company. He also advises Gannett Partners, a Dallas-based social enterprise consultancy and venture capital firm, where he helps founders build ventures that foster empathy and social-emotional learning for children.
Currently a Community Representative for the Board of Directors of New Mexico PBS and former Professor of Marketing and Communications at Columbia University, Elmquist combines expertise in fundraising, media strategy and education to strengthen public media’s reach, relevance and sustainability.
Dan Griffith
Dan Griffith serves as Vice Chair and is the immediate past Chair of The Authority for Kentucky Educational Television (KET), the governing board for Kentucky’s statewide public television network. He was first appointed to the Authority by Governor Matthew Bevin in 2016 and was reappointed in 2021 and 2025 by Governor Andy Beshear.
Griffith’s longstanding commitment to public media is rooted in more than three decades of service to the Friends of KET, where he held leadership roles including President of the Board and Vice President of Advocacy. His volunteer leadership has been recognized through numerous honors, including being named KET Volunteer of the Year and receiving both the O. Leonard Press Volunteer Award and the National Friends of Public Broadcasting Advocacy Award.
Griffith has built a career grounded in service to the arts, education and community. He twice led the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra as Chief Executive Officer (1985–1997 and 2014–2020), served as Director of Administration for a statewide law firm and later guided the Green River Area Community Foundation as Executive Director. During a period devoted to raising his daughter, he also provided strategic consulting to nonprofit organizations.
Griffith’s extensive civic service includes board memberships with the Commonwealth Fund for KET, the Foundation for Health of Owensboro Health, the Owensboro Symphony Foundation, the Owensboro Public Schools, including two years as board chair, the Owensboro Dance Theatre and the League of American Orchestras.
Rick Schneider
Rick Schneider is President and CEO of Maine Public, operating Maine’s community-licensed public television network and two radio networks for news and classical music. Maine Public launched seven new FM transmitters in 2025, extending programming and Emergency Alert Service to rural areas. The organization is preparing to open a new broadcast facility with community engagement space in downtown Portland in the summer of 2026.
Schneider started his career in commercial television news before moving into public media management, serving as CEO of PBS stations in Reno and Miami before joining WETA, where he helped implement the acquisition of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and was the first president of NewsHour Productions.
Schneider served on the PBS board and chaired the boards of the Public Television Major Market Group, Florida Public Media and the Pacific Mountain Network. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Florida and a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University.
David Tang
David Tang is a Partner at Underberg & Kessler LLP, Chair of its Creditors’ Rights and Health Care practice groups, and a trusted advisor to health care, nonprofit, financial services and business clients on restructuring, governance, risk management and complex litigation.
Tang is a graduate of Cornell University and Syracuse University College of Law. He has served in leadership roles on the boards of several nonprofits, including WXXI Public Broadcasting Council (immediate past Chair), The Little Theatre, St. John’s Home, Center for Dispute Settlement and Providence Housing Development Corporation.
Tang is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the recipient of the New York State Bar Association Trial Lawyers Section’s 2023 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Vanguard Award, recognizing a trial attorney whose leadership advances fairness, inclusivity and equity in the legal system.
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About APTS
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and community connections to their local areas and the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org