Program will serve both emerging and established women leaders

(October 15, 2018) Public Media Women in Leadership (PMWL) announces the launch of the PMWL Mentoring and Engagement Program, the first of its kind to cater to the varying needs of women in the industry through one-on-one mentoring partnerships. Funding for the program is provided by the Wyncote Foundation whose mission is “to support efforts that strengthen and enrich culture, community and the natural environment.” The Foundation has been active in supporting public media projects for many years ranging from system innovation to journalism and independent film.

The mentoring program will be offered in two tiers. Tier 1 mentees will include women within five years of attaining a C-level position and will be paired with men or women who are CEOs, COOs and GMs (current or retired). Tier 2 mentees will include women in the early years of their career and will be paired with men or women in mid-level management across various disciplines in public media.

Participation in the program will include monthly calls/meetings with a mentor. Curriculum and recommended topics of discussion will be provided while also allowing mentor/mentee partners freedom to dictate their own topics for discussion if preferred. The platform, built on state-of-the-art mentor management software, includes a plethora of resources created by PMWL to further support program participants.

Potential mentors and mentees can sign up at pmwlmentoring.chronus.com. During this phase, applicants will be asked to fill out a profile form. Once accepted into the program, mentors and mentees will be able to start forming mentoring connections.

Applying to the program is easy and straight forward. Questions: Please contact PMWL’s Mentorship and Engagement Coordinator, Veronica Varela Reyes, at varelareyes.vr@gmail.com.

The Public Media Women in Leadership organization was founded in January 2015 by Deanna Mackey and Jeannie Ericson to provide a forum for women leaders and aspiring leaders to support and learn from each other, provide training and mentorship opportunities, build community and advocate for women leadership within public media. The PMWL currently has more than 1,900 active members in its Facebook Group and provides bi-monthly training webinars on both public media and leadership topics and leads sessions and socials at many national public media conferences. While Ericson has left public media, Mackey currently serves as president of the Public Television Major Market Group. Mackey is supported by a committee of current and retired women leaders in public media, many who joined as the organization was founded. The grant to fund the Mentoring & Engagement Initiative is being provided to the PTMMG on behalf of the Public Media Women in Leadership organization.

The Wyncote Foundation's mission is to support efforts that strengthen and enrich culture, community and the natural environment. The Foundation, based in Philadelphia, was founded in 2009 with funds from the Otto and Phoebe Haas Charitable Trusts, at the direction of John C. Haas. It is named after the town Wyncote, located in Pennsylvania, where John C. Haas and his wife, Chara, owned their first home and raised their family.