ALEXANDRIA, Va., August 14, 2002 - The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) announced today the resignation of Laura Nichols, senior vice president, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. Ms. Nichols leaves her current position on September 5. After this date, she will work in conjunction with Karen Nussle, a director for BKSH & Associates, to consult on matters of corporate communications with PBS.
"Laura has been a tremendous asset to PBS," said Pat Mitchell, president and CEO of PBS. "She has made a significant contribution both in advancing the cause of public television on Capitol Hill and with the press, and in developing an overall communications strategy that will serve the institution well in the future as she continues to work with us as a consultant."
Before coming to PBS in May 2001, Ms. Nichols spent eight years as an advisor, strategist and spokesperson for Rep. Richard Gephardt, first as press secretary to the Majority Leader and later as communications director to the Minority Leader. In those roles, she was responsible for developing and managing communications strategies on a wide variety of policy issues for the entire Democratic Caucus.
Previously, Ms. Nichols was press secretary to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and handled all media relations for the 1992 Democratic National Convention. She has also served as press secretary to former representative Vic Fazio and as press secretary in several states in the 1988 Richard Gephardt for President campaign. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri.
Ms. Nussle has spent the last five years at BKSH & Associates covering the House Republican Leadership, appropriations, tax, health care, transportation and education issues. A Capitol Hill veteran who spent the majority of her tenure working with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Ms. Nussle's client list also includes Accenture, Chicago Children's Memorial Hospital, The National Mentoring Partnership and The Salvation Army.
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at PBS.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.
# # #
Contact:
Jan McNamara, PBS
703-739-5028