Paula A. Kerger

Paula A. Kerger is president and chief executive officer of PBS, the nation’s largest non-commercial media organization, with more than 330 member stations throughout the country. Having joined PBS in March 2006, Kerger is the longest-serving president and CEO in PBS history. Under Kerger’s leadership, PBS has grown its audiences across genres and platforms. PBS has moved from the 14th most-watched network in America to number seven in the past decade. Over the course of a year, 86% percent of all U.S. television households watch PBS, and each month, Americans view an average of 255 million videos across PBS’s web, mobile and connected device platforms.

Since Kerger’s arrival, PBS has consistently presented high-quality, groundbreaking content that delivers on the founding mission of public television — to educate, inspire and entertain the American people. Among her accomplishments are the pop culture phenomenon “Downton Abbey” on Masterpiece; Ken Burns’s and Lynn Novick’s critically acclaimed The Vietnam War; the documentary “Hamilton’s America,” about the Broadway smash hit musical, on Great Performances; “Freedom Riders” on American Experience; and award-winning children’s programs. Kerger has made particularly strong commitments to PBS’s work in children’s education, including the launch of the PBS KIDS 24/7 broadcast and streaming channel and the development of PBS LearningMedia, which empowers teachers across America to engage and inspire their students with high-quality digital content.

In the past year, PBS and its producing partners have been recognized with several prestigious honors, including seven Peabody Awards, four Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards and nine News & Documentary Emmy Awards.