Pat Mitchell joined the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in March 2000 as its fifth president and chief executive officer. She is the first woman and first producer to serve as CEO of PBS. She lectures widely on women's issues as well as the role of television and popular culture in shaping ideas and values.

Ms. Mitchell is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia, with bachelor's and master's degrees in English. She began her career as an English and drama instructor at the University of Georgia and Virginia Commonwealth University Her start in television came at WBZ-TV in Boston where she was a producer, news anchor, reporter, and host of a program for women. Ms. Mitchell formed her own production company in 1983, and has since worked for ABC, CBS and NBC serving as news reporter, anchor, talk show host, producer, and executive. She also founded another independent production company, VU Productions, in 1992.

Ms. Mitchell came to PBS from Time Warner, where she served as president of CNN Productions and Time Inc. Television. She was also a member of the TBS executive committee and CNN executive committee.

Long active in community and non-profit organizations, Ms. Mitchell serves on the national board of Girls Incorporated, the advisory board of Radcliffe College's Schlesinger Library on the History of Women, and the Women's Leadership Advisory Council of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University She also sits on the board of trustees of the Sundance Institute and is one of the founding members of Global Green USA, the American chapter of an international environmental organization.

Ms. Mitchell has won over 100 major awards for her talk shows and documentaries, including Emmys, Peabodys, and Cable ACEs. In May 2000, she was named Woman of the Year by Women in Cable and Telecommunications, and in February 2001, CINE, a nonprofit organization that recognizes excellence in the craft of video/film production, presented her with its prestigious Leadership Award.

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Photo by Alan Mothner