Alexandria, VA, April 18, 2005 - Mr. Andre Mendes, PBS' Chief Technology Integration Officer, will be recipient of Broadcasting & Cable's 8th Annual Technology Leadership Award. Mr. Mendes, along with 4 other individuals, will be honored for his innovation, execution and achievement in the technology field, at an awards reception on April 18 during 2005 National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas.
"PBS is extremely proud to have someone of Andre's talent and expertise working to bring breakthrough and innovative ideas to PBS. He continues to work tirelessly to ensure cost effective strategies to meet the needs of public television as well as put the system at the forefront of technology," said Wayne Godwin, COO, PBS. "We celebrate this award with him."
Mr. Mendes is responsible for developing and implementing strategy in both the Broadcasting Engineering and Information Technology divisions of PBS, and has been recently credited with the design and implementation of ACE, a innovative broadcast operations system. Mr. Mendes joined PBS in 1998.
With more than 20 years experience through positions he held at General Health, SatoTravel and USASSIST, Mr. Mendes has also consulted as a subject matter expert in information technology and medical laboratory environments with such companies as Amoco, Arco, AT&T, Ford Motor Company, IBM, Pacific Bell and Procter & Gamble. His expertise encompasses large scale computational and analytical environments, sophisticated Web-based data collection and dissemination systems, computer systems security, as well as complex bioinformatics systems.
Mr. Mendes' other accomplishments include being recently published in the critically acclaimed INSIDE THE MINDS series of books for his essay titled: "The Role of Technology in the World of Digital Media" as well as being named by Computerworld magazine in May 2001 as one of the "Premiere 100 IT Leaders" in the United States.
PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 349 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services for adult learners. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet. PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
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CONTACT:
Jan McNamara, 703-731-5028; jmcnamara@pbs.org
Lauren Arens, 703-739-5223; larens@pbs.org