Jeff Clarke
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Clarke was appointed President and CEO of KQED Public Broadcasting in June 2002. A Wisconsin native, Clarke has a broadcasting career that spans 38 years with more than 25 years in public broadcasting. Prior to joining KQED, Clarke spent twelve years in Houston, Texas, where he was chief executive officer and general manager of Houston PBS/KUHT, holding that position since 1992. Clarke led a successful capital campaign to support digital conversion and build a brand-new state-of-the-art facility, the LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, which now houses both Houston PBS/KUHT (one of the first public television stations in the nation to deliver its digital television signal into homes via Time Warner cable) and KUHF-FM, its sister National Public Radio station.
Before his arrival at HoustonPBS/KUHT, Clarke served as director of programming and production and Deputy Director of Television for Wisconsin Public Television, a six-station public television network. He also served as executive producer of the national PBS series The New Tech Times, and was manager of news and public affairs at KETC-TV, St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to his work in public broadcasting Clarke worked as a journalist, correspondent and news anchor in commercial radio and television and with the American Forces Radio and Television service.
Clarke is currently a member of the PBS board of directors, serving on the executive and membership committees, and as chair of the technology and distribution committee. Clarke also serves as chair of the board of directors of the PBS subsidiary, National DataCast Incorporated (NDI) and as a member of the board of directors for the Boston Based programming distribution service, American Public Television (APT). In addition, Clarke has served on the boards of America's Public Television Stations (APTS), the Southern Educational Communications Association (SECA) and the Central Educational Network (CEN). Clarke is also an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow.
In the Bay Area Clarke serves as a Governor of the Commonwealth Club of California, as a Trustee of the World Affairs Council of Northern California and as a member of the Asia Society Advisory Board. He and his wife Gail have been longtime Habitat for Humanity volunteers and were a "wish team" for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Texas Gulf Coast while in Houston.
Clarke has won numerous awards in his distinguished career, including five local Emmy nominations; a silver medal from the New York International Film Festival for the national PBS series, The New Tech Times; Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) local program awards; and numerous Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) news awards during his career as a television anchor and correspondent.
Clarke graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BA in radio, television and film. He earned an MA in communication arts-with an emphasis in film-from the University of Wisconsin.
Clarke received an honorable discharge as a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force after his service during the Vietnam era from June 1966 to November 1969.
Clarke and his spouse Gail have one daughter, Melissa. She and her family reside in Houston, Texas. Clarke and his wife live in Mill Valley, California.
Linda O'Bryon
Chief Content Officer
As Chief Content Officer (CCO), Linda O'Bryon leads the content divisions of Northern California Public Broadcasting (NCPB) across multiple platforms of Television, Radio, Interactive and the Education Network. She oversees a team of television and radio producers, editors, reporters, educators, web content developers, management and technical personnel at television stations KQED/San Francisco, KTEH/San Jose and KQET/Monterey, as well as KQED 88.5 FM and KQEI 89.3 FM/Sacramento.
O'Bryon joined NCPB in January 2007. She is the founding executive editor of Nightly Business Report (NBR), which is distributed nationally by PBS on more than 250 stations. In addition to editorial oversight of NBR, she also served as senior vice president and general manager of NBR Enterprises, the operating division of public station WPBT/Miami, where she orchestrated worldwide distribution and content partnerships that have helped shape Nightly Business Report into an international news force around the world.
O'Bryon spearheaded the creation of NBR in 1979, when she was serving as news director at the South Florida public television station. When NBR was launched, she both managed the program and served as its co-anchor. O'Bryon joined Miami-based WPBT2 as a producer/reporter in 1976, and later that year became the first woman television news director in South Florida. Before joining Public Television, O'Bryon was a producer at WPLG, Miami's ABC affiliate. She began her career as an on-air reporter for KCPX (now KTVX), Salt Lake City's ABC affiliate.
O'Bryon's work has earned her the distinction of being named as one of the 20th century's Top 100 Business News Luminaries by TJFR. That group also ranked her as the nation's most influential woman business news executive in the year 2001. She has received numerous other awards, including: Ohio State, Economic Understanding/Dartmouth College, American Women in Radio and Television, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She is also the recipient of the 2004 Distinguished Achievement Award from The Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) for her role as a pioneer of television business news. In 2005, a team of Nightly Business Report journalists won a National Emmy for business and financial reporting for the program's extensive coverage in China. O'Bryon has interviewed numerous world and national leaders including Warren Buffett, Steve Forbes, Bill Gates, Jack Welch and former President Jimmy Carter.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., O'Bryon graduated cum laude from the University of Miami with a major in journalism and a minor in economics.
Jeff Nemy
Chief Financial Officer
Jeff Nemy, a 25-year veteran of financial management specializing in broadcast, advertising, and consulting, joined NCPB in 2006. Nemy supervises NCPB's finance and information technology departments and manages all financial affairs. He works with the development of NCPB's strategic and business plans relating to financial management, as well as providing counsel on fiscal matters throughout the organization.
Prior to joining NCPB, Nemy was a Senior Vice President, Regional Finance Director
within The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) for nearly a decade. Within that
capacity, he was Chief Financial Officer of Foote, Cone & Belding's San Francisco
office which, at that time, was the largest advertising agency on the West Coast.
In addition to IPG, Nemy held senior financial management positions at Nextel
Communications and Chronicle Broadcasting, the parent company of several ABC
and NBC affiliates, including KRON-TV in San Francisco. He began his career as
a management consultant, working with both Arthur Young and Price Waterhouse.
Nemy holds a CPA and an MBA from the University of Santa Clara. He received his
Bachelors Degree in both Economics and Finance from California State University,
Chico. Nemy also was a contributing author to the recent Wiley & Sons book entitled "The Professional Services Firm Bible",
responsible for writing on finance, accounting, and human resource issues.
Margaret
Berry
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Margaret
Berry joined KQED in 1985 and has served as KQED's
general counsel and corporate secretary since 1995. She is responsible for managing the legal
affairs of KQED and for overseeing activities related
to the board of directors.
Berry
attended Hastings College of the Law where she served
as executive research editor for COMM/ENT, Hastings
Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law. Before
law school, Berry had an active career in the television
and film production industry.
Donald
W. Derheim
Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications
As Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Don Derheim manages NCPB's efforts in the areas of membership, corporate support, television marketing and communications. With 250,000 annual members, Derheim directs the integration of customer service and fund raising to sustain NCPB's most valued relationships. Overseeing the national funding efforts of such recent KQED productions as the Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventure Series, he plays a key role in developing strategic partnerships from coast to coast. In addition, Derheim oversaw KQED's growth in corporate support including the multi-million dollar funding increases seen for KQED Radio.
In Winter 2003, he was named to the PBS Communications Advisory Committee where he advises PBS staff on branding, promotional and advertising issues. In Fall 2006, Derheim received the PBS C.Scott Elliot award for excellence as the Development Professional of the year.
Before joining KQED in 1991, he was the advertising and marketing publicity manager at MTV Networks where he helped oversee such non-PBS projects as the Museum of UnNatural History! He joined international public relations firm, Burson-Marsteller, in 1984 where he worked on accounts such as GE, Black and Decker, and FTD.
Traci A. Eckels
Vice President, Development
As vice president of development, Traci Eckels leads KQED Public Broadcasting in its efforts surrounding securing annual major gifts from individuals, foundation support, planned gifts and donations to the KQED Campaign for the Future. She joined KQED in June 2000 and was named vice president in August 2002. During her tenure, she has worked closely with the Campaign Cabinet, Board of Directors, KQED senior managers and development staff in strategically cultivating and soliciting prospects for all of KQED's funding needs. The Campaign for the Future will reach its five-year $70 million goal in December 2003.
Prior to coming to KQED, Eckels served for 11 years in leadership positions within the development departments of San Francisco State University, the YWCA of Seattle, and the School of Law (Boalt Hall) at the University of California at Berkeley.
Eckels is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, holding a bachelor's degree in political economy of industrial societies.
Joanne Carder
Vice President, Human Resources and Labor Relations
Joanne Carder was named vice president of human
resources and labor relations in 2004. Carder is
responsible for directing, developing, and implementing
all human resource policies, procedures and labor
relations in the areas of employment, benefits,
employee relations, compensation, organizational
development, and HR administration for KQED's staff.
Prior to joining KQED, Carder had been a Human Resources
professional for nearly two decades, with service
as Director of Employee Relations at Children's
Hospital-Oakland, Director of Employee/Labor Relations
at Alta Bates Medical Center, and most recently
as Director of Human Resources for Bay Medical Management,
LLC, a 50 Physician medical practice in Walnut Creek.
Carder graduated from Holy Names University with
a B.A. degree in political science.
Jo
Anne Wallace
Vice President, KQED Public Radio General Manager
Jo
Anne Wallace has 25 years of experience in public radio
management. She has served as station manager of WYSO-FM
in Yellow Springs, Ohio, KPFA-FM in Berkeley and WGBH-FM
in Boston, and as director of administration and planning
in national Public Radio's news and information programming
division. At NPR, Wallace participated in the development
of Weekend Edition and instituted cooperative
projects with NPR member stations.
Wallace
came to KQED-FM in 1990 as general manager of the station.
Since her arrival, the station's audience has grown
from 300,000 to nearly 650,000 listeners a week, and
KQED-FM ranks as the most-listened -to public radio
station in the nation. In 1996, Wallace was promoted
to vice president and general manager of KQED-FM. For
her contributions to public broadcasting and journalism,
Wallace received the 1992 American Women in Radio and
Television award (Golden Gate Chapter) and the 1995
Public Radio News Director's Leo C. Lee Award.
In September 1998, she was elected to the NPR Board
of Directors.
Michael Isip
Vice President, Television Content and Education Network
Michael oversees local and national television production for NCPB, the most-watched public television station in the country. NCPB owns and operates KQED 9 (San Francisco), KTEH 54 (San Jose), and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey). In addition, Michael leads NCPB Education Network and its three unique services: Early Learning, Educational Services, and Community Engagement. EdNet takes content into the community through parent education and professional development workshops, public screenings, online and multimedia resources, special events and community partnerships.
Michael's production background includes more than a decade of award-winning
work on national, statewide, and local programs. Michael is Executive in Charge
of the PBS primetime, HD series Jean
Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. In 2006, Michael's division co-produced
the four part primetime series China
From the Inside, as well as American Experience:
Gold Rush. On the local
front, Michael lead an initiative, doubling local production to form a 7:30 weeknight
strip which includes The
Josh Kornbluth Show, Check, Please Bay Area!, Spark, Quest and This
Week in Northern California.
In 2006, Michael received leadership fellowships from the PBS Diversity Committee and the National Association of Broadcasters. The Father's Day Council and the American Diabetes Association named him a 2006 "Father of the Year" honoree for the Bay Area. Michael has also received a Kaiser Media Fellowship in Health (2003) and a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health (1999)
Prior to coming to KQED, Michael was Executive Producer at KVIE Public Television in Sacramento; he started his career at WLS-TV, ABC in Chicago. Michael has a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from DePaul College of Law. Michael, Vicki and their two kids Cole and Mia live in Oakland.
Steve Welch
Executive Director, Television Operations and Engineering
As executive director, television operations and engineering, Steve Welch oversees all television technical operations, including broadcast and production facilities, equipment and personnel, training, scheduling, and engineering.
Steve Welch joined KQED in April of 2000 and
has successfully led the operations and engineering
departments through KQED’s revolutionary transition
to digital technology. He brings more than 30
years of television management experience to
the senior team. Prior to KQED, he spent most
of his professional career at KCTS TV in Seattle,
where he began as a television producer/director
and served nearly a decade as director of broadcast
and production operations. He completed his tenure
as director of HDTV production and facility marketing,
a role in which he helped establish KCTS as the
early leader in U.S. production of HDTV content.
Welch received the PBS Engineering Individual Achievement Award in 1995, among other honors. During the digital transition in Seattle, he traveled to Japan three times to study advanced television at NHK (Japan National Broadcasting). After leaving KCTS, Welch worked as an HD production and marketing consultant for KCTS, Convergence Services, Corbis Corp., WETA TV, American Production Services, and the Arnold Creative Group. He earned his B.A. at the University of Washington.
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