MEDIA ADVISORY

November 10, 2008

For immediate release                                                                                                                                     Contact: Lorena Duarte

Twin Cities Public Television Mourns the Loss of
Former Vice President and General Manager Cindy Browne

ST. PAUL—Twin Cities Public Television (tpt) is mourning the loss of Cindy Browne, former tpt Vice President and Station Manager.

Ms. Browne’s tenure at tpt was only one part of a very successful career in public media, one in which she championed the leadership of women, inclusion and community engagement.

Ms. Browne earned her bachelor’s degree in history and an MBA in finance, both from the University of Minnesota.

She began her career at tpt in April of 1973 as receptionist, part-time camera operator, and air control operator. She worked her way up to the position of Vice President and General Manager, a position she held until January 1998, when she was recruited by new Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) President Robert Coonrod.

At CPB she served as both Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.  She led events intended to educate and motivate the leaders of public television (PTV) stations around the country about the coming digital transition and instigated a series of process improvement efforts in grant-making and publishing to upgrade many of CPB’s internal processes. She also significantly upgraded CPB’s strategic planning and budgeting processes.

In 2000, Ms. Browne took the position of President at Leader Evolution LLC, a consulting practice focused on supporting public broadcasters and other nonprofits. Her clients included Houston PBS and Houston Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, Public Radio Capital, Michigan Public Media, Wisconsin Public Television, as well as tpt.

In her capacity, she presented at numerous national public broadcasting conferences including one in 2003 for Partnership Continuum Incorporated. The speech, reprinted by Current Magazine, was titled “Women’s Leadership to the Future of Public Television.”  In it, Ms. Browne was quoted as saying, “Women leaders have an important strategic role to play in the future success of PTV.  The beauty of this situation is that we, and only we, have the power to turn this situation around.”

In August of 2005, Ms. Browne was appointed Executive Director at Iowa Public Radio (IPR).  At the time, IPR was a new structure created to consolidate the public radio stations at Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Iowa into a statewide network.

She was forced to step down on June 30, 2008 due to the progression of her illness.  At that time, Art Neu of Carroll, chair of the IPR board of directors said, “We are grateful to Cindy Browne for her efforts. In a relatively short time, she brought these stations together to create a unified organization … It’s been a period of tremendous change and tremendous success.”

Ms. Browne will be remembered by her colleagues at tpt as a gracious, powerful and committed leader.  Executive Vice President Bill Hanley says, “Cindy saw leadership not as the top of the mountain, but as one point in a circle.  She accepted both victories and defeats with equal grace and humility.”  And President and CEO Jim Pagliarini says, “The public broadcasting family has lost a beloved friend and an important leader.  Cindy had a quiet passion and commitment for both the cause and the people of public television and radio. One that, all who knew her will remember and cherish.”

Memorial Service to be held 4-8 p.m., Friday, November 14, at Holcomb Henry Boom Funeral Home, 515 Hwy 96, Shoreview. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Twin Cities Public Television, 172 East 4th St., St. Paul, MN 55101 or Iowa Public Radio, 1200 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50309

ABOUT tpt
The mission of Twin Cities Public Television is to “harness the power of television and other media for the public good.” A not for profit educational, civic, and cultural resource, tpt presents original television productions for national and state broadcast. Productions include the Emmy Award winning Benjamin Franklin? the Emmy winning The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s? the Emmy winning Suze Orman: The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life? the DragonflyTV science series for kids? the popular public affairs program Almanac, and the innovative Minnesota Channel, which magnifies the impact of Minnesota’s finest public service organizations using the power of television. One of the most watched PBS affiliates in the nation, tpt is based in St. Paul and operates seven digital stations in addition to analog channels tpt 2 and tpt 17.

Presented with the “mess” of a cancer diagnosis, and its resurgence, she got to work and created an action plan, complete with a team of traditional and alternative care providers to address each aspect of the disease. Presented with the “mess” of three not-so-friendly station groups, factions engaged in mini-wars ranging from petty to damaging, she sat down and created an action plan for Iowa Public Radio.

That was a crowning achievement in a long career of achievements. By the time she left Iowa Public Radio earlier this year, every element of her plan was complete or nearly so. The sad part is that most action plans against cancer can only lead to battle victories; cancer gets to win the war.

Cindy passed away last night.

Cindy has announced her decision to leave Iowa Public Radio at the end of June. She’ll return to Minnesota to spend time with her family and manage a health condition.

I’ll say two things: first, it’s amazing to see a change consultant truly living the principles she advocates, once she has the opportunity to run the show; second, I’ve had the pleasure of working for some of the best managers in public media, but I have never encountered someone with the grace, fortitude, spirit, patience, and farsightedness, of Cindy Browne.

UPDATE: Iowa Public Radio has now posted the press release.