ARLINGTON, VA, January 25, 2008 - Wayne Godwin, PBS Chief Operating Officer, today announced the resignation of Gwendolyn C. Wood, Vice President, Distribution & Operations, whose distinguished career at PBS lasted nearly 27 years.
In her most recent duties, Ms. Wood, a Certified Business Continuity Planner, managed the PBS Technical Operations Center (now PBS Network Operations Center), PBS Media Operations Center, PBS Satellite Operations Center, Broadcast Operations, Technical Services and PBS Channels. While overseeing a staff of approximately 60 employees, she made certain that PBS on-air broadcast services exceeded reliability standards and ensured that an up-to-date, comprehensive Business Continuity Plan for the PBS Satellite and Operations was in place and tested on a regular basis. Until her successor is named, Ms. Wood's staff will report directly to John McCoskey, PBS Chief Technology Officer.
"PBS is extremely grateful to Gwen for the critical work she has done over the years," stated Mr. Godwin. "She is a dedicated professional who has made many significant contributions to PBS and the public television community. We wish her the best of luck with her future endeavors."
"I am so proud of PBS, the institution I love, and the difference PBS makes to all Americans. It truly makes the world a better place," said Ms. Wood. "Most of all, I am proud of the staff in Distribution & Operations, and their day-to-day accomplishments in serving PBS and member stations. I am confident PBS will continue to be one of the nation's most important treasures."
In this next phase of her career, Ms. Wood plans to establish her own consulting service in business continuity planning, emergency preparedness and telecommunications. She will also continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the Bethesda (Maryland) Fire Department.
During her tenure at PBS, Ms. Wood developed and implemented the PBS Broadcast Operations Disaster Recovery Plan. She also led the development of the PBS Network Satellite Disaster Recovery Plan, which was successfully executed during the Telstar 401 failure in 1997 and a major generator breakdown in 2003. Ms. Wood led the development and oversaw the management of operating five fully packaged PBS Broadcast Satellite channels (used by PBS member stations and licensed to DirecTV, EchoStar and PrimeStar) and was a member of the executive-level PBS Strategic Planning Group and Real Estate Planning Group. The latter committee directed the successful relocation of PBS' headquarters from Alexandria, VA to Arlington, VA, a project that was completed in 2006.
Ms. Wood joined PBS in 1981 as the Copyright Administrator in the General Counsel's Office. She rose steadily through the organization. Her track record for planning, coordination and implementation led to her promotion to Director, Public Television Satellite Project and PBS ONLINE in 1988. She took on even greater responsibilities as Director, Satellite Services, a position she assumed in 1994. In this role, Ms. Wood managed all of public televisions satellite transponder assets. Her outstanding work was again recognized when she was elevated to Vice President, Distribution & Operations in 1997.
A graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, Ms. Wood also received graduate certification as a Legal Assistant at The George Washington University. She later studied at the University of Maryland graduate school of business, completed the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University executive course "Leading Change and Organizational Renewal" and earned her accreditation as a Certified Business Continuity Planner from the Disaster Recovery Institute.
Ms. Wood was honored with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Montgomery County Department of Homeland Security. She has co-authored white papers accepted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the PBS Technology Conference on Business Continuity Planning issues, and has spoken at numerous PBS Technology Conferences, NAB and SATCON. Ms. Wood is a member of the Society of Satellite Professionals International, as well as other professional groups.
About PBS
PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial television stations and reaches nearly 73 million people each week through on-air and online content. 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 a leading provider of digital learning content for pre-K-12 educators and offers a broad array of other educational services. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (www.pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at (www.pbs.org) one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
-PBS-
Contact information:
Jan McNamara, 703-739-5028, jmcnamara@pbs.org
www.pbs.org/pressroom