All Meetings Will Take Place at the Sheraton New Orleans Unless Noted Otherwise
All meetings will take place at the Sheraton New Orleans unless noted otherwise.
Sunday, May 6, 2018
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. REGISTRATION OPEN (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
Monday, May 7, 2018
7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. REGISTRATION OPEN (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. YoPro Workshop: New Orleans, Nottoway (Fourth Floor)
8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Beyond the Airwaves: Volunteers in Public Media, Maurepas (Third Floor)
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Corporate Meeting of the Members, Armstrong Ballroom (Eighth Floor)
9:30 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. General Managers’ Planning Meeting, Armstrong Ballroom (Eighth Floor)
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Brand Masters, Borgne (Third Floor)
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Public Television Programmers’ Association Annual Meeting (PTPA), Rhythms Ballroom II-III (Second Floor)
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Positioning Your Station as a Local Early Learning Resource (at WYES)
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. CONCURRENT 1
4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. CONCURRENT 2
5:15 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. OPENING RECEPTION AT HOUSE OF BLUES, NEW ORLEANS, Hosted by our Platinum Sponsor, NHK WORLD-JAPAN (225 Decatur St.) WYES and PBS invite you to second-line (aka parade!) from the Sheraton New Orleans to the legendary House of Blues. Meet in the hotel lobby at 5:15 p.m. and wear comfortable shoes. Starting at 5:30 p.m. we will parade down the streets of the French Quarter. At the House of Blues, you’ll have a chance to mingle with colleagues and enjoy live music with the Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. band, otherwise known as “Zydeco’s Royal Family.” We look forward to seeing you there! (You must have your PBS badge to enter.)
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. REGISTRATION OPEN (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. HOSTED BREAKFAST, THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, HOSTED BY PBS AND WETA (Napoleon Ballroom) (meal service ends at 8:00 a.m.) Start your morning off with a cup of coffee and a good book… or 100 good books… as we take a closer look at THE GREAT AMERICAN READ. Get an exclusive sneak peek, learn more about this systemwide initiative, and celebrate the joy of reading.
8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. GENERAL SESSION: OPENING REMARKS (Grand Ballroom) Allan Pizzato, President and CEO, WYES Beth Courtney, President and CEO, Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) Paula Kerger, President and CEO, PBS Dan Miller PBS Station Leadership Award
as of Wednesday, May 02, 2018
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. NETWORKING BREAK (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. GENERAL SESSION: PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING I (Grand Ballroom) Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Barzilay introduces the Content portion of the Annual Meeting with an overview of the year ahead. Then PBS puts on a show by highlighting our drama and arts programming. From the stage to the screen, this session shows the breadth of performance and scripted programming on PBS. Jonathan Barzilay, Chief Operating Officer, PBS Marsha Bemko, Executive Producer, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, WGBH Ann Curry, Executive Producer and Journalist, WE’LL MEET AGAIN, Blink Films Jim Dunford, Vice President, Programming and Operations, PBS Rebecca Eaton, Executive Producer, MASTERPIECE, WGBH Shawn Halford, Senior Director, Program Scheduling, PBS David Horn, Executive Producer, GREAT PERFORMANCES/LANDMARKS LIVE; Director, Performance and Arts Programming, THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET Michael Kantor, Executive Producer, AMERICAN MASTERS, THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET
Tina Kukielski, Executive Producer, ART IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, Art21 Bill Margol, Senior Director, Programming and Development, PBS Sumner Menchero, Director, Station Strategy and Engagement, PBS Courtney Pledger, Executive Director, Arkansas Educational Television Network Stephen Segaller, Executive Producer, SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED Season Three; Vice President, Programming, THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET
Other programs include: CRAFT IN AMERICA ROYAL WEDDING WATCH STATE OF THE ART THE GREAT AMERICAN READ
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. HOSTED LUNCH, PUBLIC MEDIA: UNDERSTANDING AMERICA’S PAST AND IMAGINING ITS FUTURE, SPONSORED BY CPB (Napoleon Ballroom) As President Lyndon Johnson said, on the occasion of the signing of the Public Broadcasting Act, “What educates can also be exciting.” Please join CPB President Pat Harrison, Mark Updegrove, President and CEO, Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation, Multi-Award Winning Actress, Rita Moreno, and special guests for this celebration of our past and future. Patricia S. Harrison, President and CEO, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Washington, DC Mark K. Updegrove, President and CEO, Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation, Austin, Texas Rita Moreno, Multi-Award Winning Actress
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. GENERAL SESSION: KEYNOTE (Grand Ballroom) Walter Isaacson, bestselling author, award-winning biographer, and former President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, will speak with Benjamin Jaffe, Creative Director of Preservation Hall and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Charlie Gabriel, Composer and Preservation Hall Jazz Band musician, about the resilience and rebirth of New Orleans as the city celebrates its tricentennial. Walter Isaacson, bestselling author, award-winning biographer, and former President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, University Professor, Tulane University Benjamin Jaffe, Creative Director of Preservation Hall and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band Charlie Gabriel, Musician, Composer, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band
2:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. NETWORKING BREAK (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. CONCURRENT 3
4:00 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. GENERAL SESSION: PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING II (Grand Ballroom) A journey into the past can help us understand the future. In this session, we’ll preview our wide array of history and personal history programming, highlighting the people, places, and things that are interwoven into the stories of our country and the world. Pamela A. Aguilar, Senior Director, Programming and Development, PBS
as of Wednesday, May 02, 2018
Jeff Bieber, Vice President, Content Development and Production, KOREA: THE NEVER ENDING WAR, WETA Abigail E. Disney, Executive Producer, WOMEN, WAR & PEACE II, Fork Films Jim Dunford, Vice President, Programming and Operations, PBS Bill Gardner, Vice President, Programming and Development, PBS Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Host, Writer and Executive Producer, FINDING YOUR ROOTS, Inkwell Films Gary Glassman, Executive Producer, NATIVE AMERICA, Providence Pictures Stephen Gong, Executive Director, Center for Asian American Media Erika Howard, Director, Audience Engagement and Station Marketing, POV, American Documentary, Inc. Dyllan McGee, Executive Producer, FINDING YOUR ROOTS, McGee Media Jhane Myers (Comanche/Blackfeet), Native American Culturalist and Artist, NATIVE AMERICA, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe Justine Nagan, Executive Producer, POV and AMERICA REFRAMED; Executive Director, American Documentary, Inc. Marie Nelson, Vice President, News & Public Affairs, PBS Poppy Northcutt, Return to Earth Specialist, Mission Control, Apollo 8 Michael Rosenfeld, Vice President, National Production, THE DICTATOR’S PLAYBOOK, Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. Mark Samels, Executive Producer, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, WGBH Lois Vossen, Executive Producer, INDEPENDENT LENS, ITVS
5:10 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. PRESENTATION OF THE BEACON AWARD, FEATURING A PERFORMANCE BY VICTORIA AGNEW WOODHOUSE, AND CLOSING REMARKS (Grand Ballroom) Paula Kerger, President and CEO, PBS
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. REGISTRATION OPEN (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. HOSTED BREAKFAST, LET’S GO LUNA!, HOSTED BY PBS KIDS AND 9 STORY MEDIA GROUP (Napoleon Ballroom) (meal service ends at 8:00 a.m.) Travel the globe with Luna the moon and explore cultures from around the world. Grounded in an innovative social studies curriculum, LET’S GO LUNA! is a new PBS KIDS series created by Emmy Award-winning animator, writer and artist Joe Murray (Rocko’s Modern Life, Camp Lazlo) and produced by 9 Story Media Group. In the show, Luna guides her three friends Leo the wombat, Carmen the butterfly and Andy the frog as they travel the world with the “Circo Fabuloso,” their parents' traveling performance troupe. The gang’s adventures take them across continents – from London to Cairo to Beijing – where they explore the food, architecture and other features that make each region unique – building global citizenship and social skills along the way. Claudia Scott-Hansen, Vice President, Business Development, 9 Story Media Group Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children’s Programming, PBS Joe Murray, Executive Producer and Creator, LET’S GO LUNA! Tanya Green, Vice President, Production, 9 Story Media Group/Brown Bag Films Dr. Azza Ahmad, Lecturer of Arabic, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures, UCLA; LET’S GO LUNA! Curriculum Advisor
8:45 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. GENERAL SESSION: KEYNOTE (Grand Ballroom) A Nobel Memorial Prize winner in economics, James Heckman has conducted groundbreaking research proving that investing in early childhood development leads to great economic gains. He has demonstrated that high quality early childhood programs heavily influence health, economic and social outcomes. In this keynote, learn about the importance of focusing on early childhood education and the power that stations have to make a difference for underserved families and society at large -- today, and for generations to come. James J. Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, The University of Chicago Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Children’s Media & Education, PBS
as of Wednesday, May 02, 2018
9:15 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. GENERAL SESSION: PBS KIDS AND EDUCATION (Grand Ballroom) Stations are uniquely positioned to make an impact on our nation’s youngest learners - and the parents, caregivers and educators that support them in communities across the nation. In this session, explore how your station can move the needle in kindergarten readiness for children through innovative multiplatform content and engaging community-based initiatives. Learn how you can leverage this important work to position your station as a trusted, valued and essential leader in education. Sara DeWitt, Vice President, PBS KIDS Digital Mallory Mbalia, Former Kindergarten Teacher, Assistant Principal, Underwood Elementary School, UNC-TV Trainer, PBS Digital Innovator All-Star, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Children’s Media & Education, PBS Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children’s Programming, PBS Sara Schapiro, Vice President, PBS Education
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. NETWORKING BREAK HOSTED BY THE FRED ROGERS COMPANY (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. GENERAL SESSION: PBS DIGITAL & MARKETING AND KEYNOTE (Grand Ballroom) Join Chief Digital & Marketing Officer Ira Rubenstein for an update on the PBS Brand Refresh timeline, a look at upcoming Digital & Marketing priorities, and new distribution opportunities. Then, social media expert and pioneer Oliver Luckett shares his groundbreaking theory of social media--how it works, how it's changing human life, and how we can master it for good. Ira Rubenstein, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, PBS Oliver Luckett, CEO of ReviloPark and Author (The Social Organism)
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. GENERAL SESSION: PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING III (Grand Ballroom) Headlines are made with a preview of PBS’ award-winning news and public affairs programming, followed by the upcoming season of independent film from some of the most notable documentary series on television. Yamiche Alcindor, White House Correspondent, PBS NEWSHOUR, WETA Raney Aronson-Rath, Executive Producer, FRONTLINE, WGBH Jonathan Barzilay, Chief Operating Officer, PBS Robert Costa, Moderator, WASHINGTON WEEK, WETA Carmen Yulín Cruz, Mayor, San Juan, Puerto Rico Lisa Desjardins, Capitol Hill Correspondent, PBS NEWSHOUR, WETA Mishi Ebrahim, Senior Director, News and Public Affairs, PBS Jule Hall, Bard Prison Initiative Graduate, Program Assistant in the Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice Unit, The Ford Foundation Sara Just, Executive Producer, PBS NEWSHOUR; Senior Vice President, WETA Margarita Millán, Vice President and General Manager, WMTJ, San Juan Amna Nawaz, Correspondent, PBS NEWSHOUR, WETA Marie Nelson, Vice President, News and Public Affairs, PBS Lynn Novick, Director and Producer, COLLEGE BEHIND BARS: THE BARD PRISON INITIATIVE (W.T.), Florentine Films Carlos Watson, Host, BREAKING BIG, OZY Media
12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. HOSTED LUNCH, FRONTLINE, SPONSORED BY WGBH (Napoleon Ballroom) Facebook has connected two billion people and led an information revolution -- but at what cost? FRONTLINE’s year-long investigation goes inside the truth and consequences of Facebook's rise as a global power. Join WGBH for lunch you’ll like, and the first reveal of this blockbuster Fall 2018 film. Raney Aronson-Rath, Executive Producer, FRONTLINE, WGBH Antonio García Martínez, former Facebook product manager & author of the bestseller Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley Roger McNamee, Facebook Investor/Venture Capitalist Dana Priest, Washington Post Investigative Reporter
2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. CONCURRENT 4
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. NETWORKING BREAK (Sheraton Grand Foyer)
as of Wednesday, May 02, 2018
3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. CONCURRENT 5 MEETUPS (Check the mobile app for Meet-Up topics and locations.)
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. GENERAL SESSION: PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING IV (Grand Ballroom) Travel the world in search of amazing creatures and discoveries with a line-up of science and natural history programming. From Australia to South America, from the heights of the Himalayas to New England in the fall, we will explore our beautiful planet with these programs that make up your Think Wednesday schedules. Pamela A. Aguilar, Senior Director, Programming and Development, PBS Paula S. Apsell, Director, WGBH Science Unit; Senior Executive Producer, NOVA, WGBH Jim Dunford, Vice President, Programming and Operations, PBS Bill Gardner, Vice President, Programming and Development, PBS Fred Kaufman, Executive Producer, NATURE, THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET Jerry Liwanag, Vice President, Fundraising Programming, PBS Bill Margol, Senior Director, Programming and Development, PBS Amanda Mountain, President and CEO, Rocky Mountain PBS Marcus Samuelsson, Host and Executive Producer, NO PASSPORT REQUIRED, Vox Entertainment
Other programs include: COUNTRY MUSIC EARTH’S NATURAL WONDERS 2 – LIFE AT THE EXTREMES KINGDOMS OF THE SKY TEN THAT CHANGED AMERICA THE AMAZING HUMAN BODY THE MAYO CLINIC THE OUTBACK WILD METROPOLIS WONDERS OF MEXICO
5:30 p.m. – 5:40 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS (Grand Ballroom) Paula Kerger, President and CEO, PBS
5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. CLOSING RECEPTION, Armstrong Ballroom (Eighth Floor) (You must have your PBS badge to enter.)
as of Wednesday, May 02, 2018