The APTS National Advocacy Award is presented to station leaders who excel in telling the story of their local station’s work in education, public safety and civic leadership, and how federal and State funding make that work possible.
“Polly Anderson is a tireless advocate for public broadcasting, helping to strengthen our ever-growing bipartisan support both in Congress and at the State level,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS. “Thanks to Polly’s relentless efforts, the State of Oklahoma’s support for public television has grown consistently during her tenure.
“Polly has also been an extraordinarily effective advocate with her congressional delegation – always connecting with them on issues that they care about, and helping to grow their understanding of the impact OETA has on the lives of Oklahomans. This outreach has been particularly important with Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Subcommittee that provides public media funding.
“Polly’s commitment to fortifying his strong support for public media has been tremendously important for the entire public media system,” said Butler. “We are extremely grateful for Polly’s work and are honored to present her with this most well-deserved National Advocacy Award.”
“I am so very honored by this award from America’s Public Television Stations;” said Polly Anderson. “Advocating on behalf of public television is a labor of love as I see every day the impact our programming and services have on education, public safety and civic leadership. I gratefully accept this award on behalf of our board of directors, our Friends of OETA board and our so very talented OETA team. Without their support, it would not have been possible.”
Polly Anderson is the executive director of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA), the state’s only provider of PBS programming. She has more than 20 years of experience in the public broadcasting industry, having served in a variety of roles, including CEO positions in Orlando, Florida, at New Mexico PBS and at the PBS and NPR licensee in Waco, Texas.
Additionally, Anderson has served on numerous boards of national public broadcasting organizations, including as chair of the board of America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), and as chair of the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA), a program distribution and professional development organization.
Prior to her public broadcasting career, Anderson worked in the corporate world and for a nonprofit organization. Anderson currently resides in Oklahoma City. She received her B.A. in business administration/marketing from the University of South Florida in Tampa.
The National Advocacy Award was presented to Polly Anderson during the APTS Public Media Summit on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
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About APTS
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org