WASHINGTON - February 6, 2020 - America's Public Television Stations (APTS) today announced the election of its new board leaders and members.
Molly Phillips, Executive Director and General Manager of Iowa PBS, has been elected Chair; Jefferi K. Lee, General Manager of WHUT in Washington, D.C. has been elected as Professional Vice Chair; and Carol Kellermann, Lay Trustee, Thirteen/WNET in New York, has been re-elected as Lay Vice Chair. The newly-elected officers will begin their terms on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.
The newly-elected trustees are: DeAnne Hamilton, Executive Director and General Manager of KBTC Public Television in Tacoma, Washington; Laura Hunter, Station Manager and COO of Utah Education Network/KUEN in Salt Lake City, Utah; Dax Schieffer, Board Chair of Friends of MontanaPBS in Bozeman, Montana; and Dolores Sukhdeo, President and CEO of South Florida PBS in Miami, Florida. Newly-elected as an at-large trustee to the APTS board is Brigadier General (Retired) Leo A. Brooks, Jr., Vice President, Enterprise Subsidiary Integration, Government Operations, for The Boeing Company in Washington, D.C. The newly-elected trustees will begin their terms on Monday, February 24, 2020.
Re-elected to the APTS Board of Trustees are Kathy Rae, Board Member of KPBS in San Diego, California, and Andrew Russell, President and CEO of PBS SoCal KCET in Los Angeles, California.
Following is background on the board officers:
Molly Phillips is the Executive Director and General Manager for Iowa PBS, where she has been responsible for leading Iowa's only statewide broadcasting network since 2013. Phillips has served Iowa PBS since 1990, devoting her career to the advancement of public television and Iowa PBS's mission to educate, inform, enrich and inspire Iowans. She was previously the Director of Communications and Community Engagement, where for nearly 15 years she was responsible for the network's state and federal public policy advocacy. America's Public Television Stations (APTS) presented Phillips with the National Advocacy Award in 2010. Phillips is the past Chair of the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) Board of Directors. She currently serves on the APTS Board of Trustees and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Board of Directors. Phillips is an active member of the Organization of State Broadcasting Executives (OSBE). Phillips holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from Grand View University in Des Moines. She was raised in Southwest Iowa and she currently resides in Grimes with her husband Steve. They have three children together: Courtney, a graduate of University of Northern Iowa and a Special Education teacher; and twin boys Taylor (attending Iowa State University) and Trevor (attending University of Iowa).
Jefferi K. Lee currently serves as the General Manager of WHUT-TV on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. Lee was President/CEO of the Bio-Defense Research Group, Inc., a biotech company located in Columbia, MD that developed a new product invented at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which protects occupants of buildings by neutralizing biological warfare agents passing through the building's air distribution system. Previously, Lee was the President of Black Entertainment Networks and Executive Vice President of BET Holdings, Inc. a cable programmer specifically targeting the African American community. He played an integral role on the team that took BET Holdings, Inc. public, which established the organization as the first black-owned company traded on the NYSE. Lee was responsible for the launching of several affiliated networks, i.e. BET International, MSBET, BET Radio and BET on Jazz. Lee has been recognized for his outstanding work in the cable and television industries by the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Minorities in Cable (NAMIC) and the National Association of Broadcasters. Lee is a member of the FCC Federal Advisory Board on Diversity. He is an Elder in the Olive Branch Community Church and serves as the Co-Founder of The Brandon Carrington Lee Foundation.
Carol Kellermann retired in December 2018 as President of the Citizens Budget Commission. She has over 25 years of experience in leadership positions in nonprofit, philanthropic and government settings. Kellermann has served as Interim Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers and PENCIL, Inc., and as a consultant to City University of New York (CUNY), where she initiated a pilot program to improve graduation rates and job outcomes at CUNY's six community colleges. As Executive Director and CEO of the September 11 Fund, Kellermann oversaw the $500+ million charitable fund, which provided grants and assistance for the short and long term needs of victims of the September 11th attacks. Prior to that, she was Executive Director of Learning Leaders, the oldest and largest volunteer program in the New York City public schools. Kellermann has been Chief of Staff to then-Congressman Charles E. Schumer and held various executive positions in New York City government, including Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Department of Finance. Kellermann holds degrees from Harvard Law School and Harvard College.
Following is background on the newly-elected board members:
Leo A. Brooks, Jr.
Leo A. Brooks, Jr. is Vice President, Enterprise Subsidiary Integration, Government Operations, for The Boeing Company in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he has responsibility to ensure optimal enterprise integration of Boeing subsidiaries, joint ventures, and investment partners for Government Operations as well as to leverage government, community and enterprise resources to empower subsidiaries' achievement of business goals and objectives. Through the alignment of public policy priorities at the federal, state and local levels, Enterprise Subsidiary Integration enables growth of subsidiaries and partners.
Prior to this latest assignment, Brooks was Vice President, Defense, Space and Security, for The Boeing Company's Government Operations in Washington, D.C., and served as the company's Senior Corporate Liaison with the Pentagon, NASA and the Department of Homeland Security. From 2006 to 2009, he served as Vice President, Army Systems.
Brooks joined the company in August 2006, after serving in the United States Army for 27 distinguished years and retiring as a brigadier general. He commanded units in virtually every echelon of the Army including an Airborne Brigade in the famed 82nd Airborne Division, Deputy Commanding General of 1st Armored Division in Germany, and Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy. His last assignment prior to retiring was Vice Director of the Army Staff, Office of the Chief of Staff, in the Pentagon. In that capacity, he was the Principal Deputy to the Director of the Army Staff, responsible for integrating, coordinating, and synchronizing the efforts of the Army staff to support Army and Combatant Commands in the global war on terrorism.
Brooks holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Military Academy and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. He is a Senior Fellow of the Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Government, National Security Studies Program and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the New England School of Law. He served as the Executive in Residence for the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management Honors Program at Morgan State University from 2014 - 2016. Brooks also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Norwich University for eight years and is currently on the Board of Directors of the District of Columbia College Access Program, the National Defense Industrial Association and the Advisory Board of Directors of the Association of the United States Army. Brooks is also a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
DeAnne Hamilton
DeAnne Hamilton is Executive Director and General Manager of KBTC Public Television in the Seattle-Tacoma market. Hamilton joined KBTC, a licensee of Bates Technical College, in 2016. In addition to providing quality content from public media sources, KBTC has increased its engagement through locally produced content, a speaker's series and other community partnerships. As a Ready To Learn (RTL) station, KBTC has expanded learning opportunities in Tacoma-based schools as well as grow its outreach efforts to underserved families in Pierce County. KBTC's RTL program has garnered the attention of the state's members of Congress.
Hamilton came to KBTC after serving four years as founding General Manager of 90.5 WESA, a multi-platform public media organization in Pittsburgh, PA. Before that, Hamilton served as General Manager and Director of Broadcasting Services for WKAR Public Broadcasting at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. In that position she had oversight of four digital television channels, several cable channels, two radio channels and wkar.org.
Prior to joining WKAR, Hamilton worked at KQED in San Francisco, CA. In 1999, she was named Vice President & Television Station Manager, where she was responsible for the oversight of the station's daily broadcast and local and national production operations. During her 14 years at KQED, Hamilton served as Senior Director for Television Production and Operations, and as Executive Producer on numerous award-winning local and national television productions and as Associate News Director. Before KQED, Hamilton was a producer at CBS affiliate KPIX Television and ABC affiliate KATU in Portland, OR where she began her career.
Hamilton has served on several national boards of directors including APTS, PBS and NETA. She was a founding member of the University Licensee Association, Affinity Group Coalition, board member of Pacific Islanders in Communications, Black Public Media, the Michigan Association of Public Broadcasters, Michigan Public Radio Network and the Mid-Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross. She currently is a board member of the Washington chapter of The Nature Conservancy and is member of Rotary 8 in Tacoma, WA.
Laura Hunter, Ph.D.
Laura Hunter is Chief Operating Officer for Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN) and Station Manager for public broadcaster KUEN. Hunter's leadership supports robust broadband and broadcast networks connecting universities, schools, libraries and rural health clinics across Utah.
Hunter oversees policy, planning and compliance processes with the UETN Board and legal counsel. Her team manages the award-winning UEN.org website, ed-tech professional development, Utah's Online Library, eMedia video on demand, Canvas online course management system and the state's curriculum website. She negotiates contracts for instructional applications and software, bringing consortia together to achieve cost-savings.
Hunter helped to create the Instructional Design with Educational Technology graduate program at the University of Utah and teaches two original courses for that program. She was co-PI for two NSF cyber-infrastructure research grants with western region universities.
Hunter holds a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning with a research focus on educational technology, Master's Degree in Education and Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts. She recently completed executive education certificates in Public Leadership from Harvard University's Kennedy School and Non-Profit Leadership from Georgetown University. As a licensed teacher, she previously worked for the Utah State Office of Education and Salt Lake City School District.
Hunter serves on numerous state and national boards and is a frequent presenter on educational technology topics.
Dax Schieffer
Dax Schieffer is Chair of the Friends of MontanaPBS Board of Directors with a career in media relations, public affairs and human resources. Schieffer is the principal of Big Sky Solutions & Strategies, serving statewide clients in consulting on nonprofit management, economic development and education.
Schieffer grew up in eastern Montana, 50 miles from the smallest television market in the country. Fortunately, his home was within the umbrella of MontanaPBS, providing quality, educational programming. In 1997, Schieffer received a Bachelor's Degree from Montana State University in Bozeman and entered the private sector, joining Big Sky Resort, a subsidiary of Boyne Resorts.
Over 18 years, Schieffer served in a number of leadership positions in marketing and public relations at Big Sky Resort. For six years, Schieffer was on the Executive Team as the Director of Human Resources. He maintained volunteer and fundraising positions for the regional United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters and was a founding member of the Big Sky Rotary Club.
In 2010, Schieffer was awarded the Montana Governor's Ready Award from the Governor's Office of Community Involvement. For 10 years, Schieffer served on the Big Sky Fire Department as a firefighter and EMT, obtaining recognition as the firefighter of the year in 2010.
Today, Schieffer contracts as the Executive Director of the Montana Council on Economic Education, improving economic and financial literacy for Montana's youth. In addition, he is the Director of Voices of Montana Tourism, a nonprofit advocacy group providing education and outreach to improve Montana's visitor economy and main street businesses. Schieffer also serves as Administrator for Montana Ambassadors in partnership with the Governor's Office of Economic Development and the Montana Department of Commerce sharing the passion to live and do business in Montana.
Schieffer resides in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife Chantel and son Dax who attends elementary school.
Dolores Sukhdeo
Dolores Sukhdeo serves as the President and CEO of South Florida PBS, the merged organization that brings together WPBT2 and WXEL to represent the 7th largest TV market in the United States. In 1998, Sukhdeo 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.
Sukhdeo began her television career in 1990 at the international newsgathering division of Disney/ABC News Inc. - Worldwide Television News in New York, NY, where she worked her way through the ranks from Sales Assistant to Regional Executive for the USA & Latin America. During her tenure at Worldwide Television News, Sukhdeo managed large scale news events including the Oklahoma City bombing, Olympics coverage, presidential elections and the United Nations 50th Anniversary.
Sukhdeo earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish Literature from Columbia University and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Miami.
Sukhdeo is the Immediate Past Chair for Florida Public Media, a statewide consortium of Florida public television and radio stations. She is Past President of the International Women's Forum (IWF) Florida, and Past Chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) Nonprofit Business Committee and the GMCC Creative Industries Committee.
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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 civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org