Cook joins the Children’s Media and Educations Leadership Committee and Held joins the Development Advisory Committee
PITTSBURGH – WQED’s Cathy Cook, Director of Education, and Molly Held, Director of On-Air Fundraising, have been selected as PBS Advisory Council members for 2023. The PBS Advisory Councils and Committees are organized to advise and liaise between stations and PBS departments.
Cook, a leader in public media education, was selected nationally from all PBS stations to join the Children’s Media and Education Leadership Committee. This committee is drawn from stations across the country and represents a variety of staff disciplines: general management, education and community engagement, marketing and public relations, development and fundraising and programming and content development. Participating staff members each serve up to two consecutive three-year terms on the committee and advise PBS on a variety of issues relating to our Children’s Media and Education work.
“Serving on the Children’s Media and Education Leadership Committee is a fantastic opportunity to work with PBS Kids,” says Cook. “I’m excited to share the local perspective on all things education while learning from other PBS stations in the system.”
Held, a leader at the forefront of public media fundraising, was selected to join select other public television professionals on the Development Advisory Committee (DAC) whose guidance helps form the fundraising goals and strategies of PBS Station Services. These goals and strategies serve as the foundation for achieving the shared vision of a financially sustainable and thriving public media service for all Americans. The DAC plays an integral role in PBS Fundraising Strategy’s support of overall development planning and activities as they align with PBS strategic goals by collaborating on improving system-wide fundraising capabilities, representing local station needs and provide counsel and guidance regarding priorities for training, research and other core support services.
“I’m honored to be serving on the Development Advisory Committee alongside public television professionals from across the country,” says Held. “Over the next three years, I hope work to implement new and exciting fundraising strategies at WQED and throughout the entire PBS System by testing new initiatives developed by the DAC.”
About WQED
WQED was an experiment in educational community-supported television that was the forerunner to PBS. Today, WQED is a multimedia powerhouse that is as much a part of Pittsburgh as the three rivers. WQED is WQED-TV (PBS); WQED World; WQED Create; WQED Showcase; WQED PBS KIDS Channel; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; the Pittsburgh Concert Channel at WQED-HD2 (89.3-2FM) and online; streaming and apps, and WQED Interactive.
WQED is a premier leader in broadcast and digital video production, producing socially relevant, historical, arts, entertainment and educational programming resources. WQED’s Learning Neighborhood model creates an education continuum dedicated to serving our youngest neighbors through Ready To Learn programming, while engaging high school students learning filmmaking and exploring employment opportunities through the WQED Film Academy.
About PBSPBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 126 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’ premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.