ARLINGTON, VA, NOVEMBER 27, 2007- Katherine Lauderdale, PBS Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, announced that Gena Ashe has been named Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of PBS following a nationwide search. Ms. Ashe recently began her tenure at PBS headquarters, where she reports directly to Ms. Lauderdale.
Ms. Ashe works with Ms. Lauderdale to manage the day-to-day operations of the PBS legal department and the legal department personnel. In her capacity as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Ms. Ashe manages the team of attorneys and legal professionals who provide legal counsel and support across PBS on all legal matters affecting the enterprise. Additionally, she advises PBS senior executives and employees on corporate law, transactions, intellectual property, litigation and other legal maters impacting PBS.
"As the digital media revolution comes of age, requiring PBS to deliver its quality content on a growing number of platforms, the legal department must act to protect PBS' interests and brands in a manner that enables it to innovate in a rapidly changing environment to meet the needs of local PBS stations and the American public" said Ms. Lauderdale. "Because of her breadth of legal experience in the corporate and technology sectors, Gena is perfectly suited to help us with this charge, and I am delighted that she has joined our team."
"I can't imagine a more exciting time to be involved in public television," said Ms. Ashe "We are witnessing a technological revolution in this industry that will shape how Americans access public service media content for decades to come. I am thrilled to be joining the dynamic team of PBS leaders at such a critical time in the company's history."
Ms. Ashe joins PBS from Darden Restaurants (parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants), where she had served as Senior Associate General Counsel since 2004. Prior to Darden, Ms. Ashe served as Chief Regulatory Counsel and Senior Transactional Counsel for Lucent Technologies; Senior Counsel and Director of Government Affairs for AT&T Corp.; and Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of E.spire Communications. She has also held various legal and engineering positions at IBM Corporation and Bell Labs. During her career, Ms. Ashe has worked extensively with some of the world's leading companies, providing legal counsel on a wide range of matters, including intellectual property; technology acquisition and licensing; brand management; regulatory positioning; entering new lines of business; and major deal negotiations. She is a member of the state bars of New York and North Carolina.
In addition to her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University, Ms. Ashe also holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, an International Management Certificate from Oxford University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Spelman College.
Ms. Ashe is active in several community organizations. She serves on the Board of Directors of the United Negro College Fund in Central Florida and of Hebni Nutrition Consultants. She is also President of the Orlando Chapter of Jack-and-Jill of America, Inc.
About PBS
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