Who We Are
TPT IS YOUR LOCAL PBS STATION
TPT is one of the preeminent PBS affiliate stations in the country, producing and broadcasting public media programming in the Twin Cities and its surrounding areas.
TPT believes that media is profoundly powerful – shaping how people and communities understand themselves, each other and the world in which we live.
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1955What is now Twin Cities PBS is incorporated as Twin City Area Educational Television -
September 16, 1957KTCA (channel 2) begins broadcasting as the first non-commercial public television station in Minnesota from a WWII-era wooden structure on the University of Minnesota Agricultural Campus -
May 5, 1965A second station, KTCI (channel 17), is launched -
1967KTCA becomes the first educational station in the nation to broadcast in color -
1970Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) founded; KTCA becomes a member station -
1984“Almanac” premieres on KTCA -
1989KTCA moves to Lowertown, St. Paul and into the building that we now occupy -
1994Iconic documentary, “Hoop Dreams” is produced by KTCA -
2000KTCA officially becomes Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) -
2003TPT becomes the first broadcaster in Minnesota (commercial or public) to launch a television channel (TPT HD) fully devoted to high-definition programming -
2005TPT launches the statewide MN Channel public television service -
2010TPT begins capital campaign for strategic station initiatives and building remodel -
2012TPT launches national website, Next Avenue, “where grown-ups keep growing” -
2015TPT’s Lowertown studios undergo a major renovation and Twin Cities Public Television becomes Twin Cities PBS (TPT)
Jim Pagliarini – President & CEO
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Jim joined Twin Cities PBS, in September of 1997. As the CEO of one of our nation’s foremost PBS stations, he is leading the organization into an exciting new future: expanding their content, distribution, and funding strategies to take full advantage of 21st century tools, technologies, and consumer interests.
Before joining TPT, Jim was the founding CEO of the PBS station in Reno, Nevada; a position he held for 15 years. He has been heavily engaged as a national leader of PBS. Jim served for 12 years as a member of the Board of Directors of PBS, holding numerous leadership positions. He has also served on several national task forces exploring and refining the business of public television. In 2006 Jim was granted a leave of absence from his position at TPT to lead a national strategic planning project for the public broadcasting system. Most recently, he led the development of Next Avenue, a major PBS website for people 50+ which launched in May of 2012. Jim received his undergraduate degree in biology from Princeton University and master’s in education from Temple University.
dean orton – chief operating officer
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Dean joined Twin Cities PBS in October of 2016. In his role, Dean oversees the station’s content, marketing, events, corporate and foundation fundraising departments.
Most recently, Dean was Chief Operating Officer at Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN). Dean has over twenty years of management experience in public media. At CPBN, he oversaw the branding, engagement, content, technology and education departments. During his tenure, Dean helped rebuild CPBN’s station facilities during the transition to digital broadcasting and expanded its educational mission through the creation of the Learning Lab.
Dean’s previous roles include President and CEO of the Princeton Center for Arts and Education and American Boyschool Choir in Princeton, New Jersey, and Senior Vice President of Development and Media Services at CPBN. Dean was raised in Appleton, Minnesota and is a graduate of Buena Vista University in Iowa.
Jenny Masters-Wolfe – Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Organizational Effectiveness
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Jenny leads the Human Resources Department and all of the employment practice functions within the organization. Prior to TPT, Jenny lived in the Pacific Northwest where she was formerly the Vice President of Human Resources for Restaurants Unlimited. She has worked in numerous business sectors in senior management positions. Her primary focus at TPT is to direct and support the strategic objectives of “creating a great place to work,” by aligning HR strategy and organizational development to our strategic plan. She attended Eastern Washington University where she majored in Science and Psychology.
Dave Peters – Chief Information & Technology Officer
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Dave joined Twin Cities PBS in February of 2016. He is responsible for the information technology and broadcast engineering teams. He is accountable to modernize TPT’s infrastructure while focusing on creating new audience-centric and digital capabilities.
Prior to TPT, Mr. Peters was the CIO at Bluestem Brands for five years where he was part of the ecommerce retail company’s extraordinary growth from $400MM to $1.2BB in sales. Dave has 30+ years of experience as an executive and senior leader working for Accenture, Best Buy, Oracle, and EDS – leading IT implementations of CRM, ERP, Supply Chain, and e-Commerce systems. Dave earned a BS from St. John’s University in Mathematics and Management Information Systems.
Jennifer (Jenn) Schmidt – Senior Vice President of Finance & Business Administration
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Jenn oversees Finance, Accounting and Building Services at TPT. Her focus, in addition to providing financial leadership to the management team, is to design and deliver efficient processes related to high quality financial information and TPT’s physical environment. Prior to joining TPT, Jenn held leadership positions in Finance at several Minnesota organizations including Archway Marketing Services, Pearson, Ameriprise, US Bank, and Pillsbury. She earned her degree in Business Administration/Accounting from Augsburg College and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
MELISSA WRIGHT – General Counsel & Vice President of Legal
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Melissa leads the Legal, Government Relations, and Compliance responsibilities at TPT. In addition, she serves as the Corporate Secretary. Through her various roles at TPT, Melissa provides creative solutions and direction on TPT’s initiatives that align with TPT’s mission and strategic plan. Melissa’s prior experience includes, working in experiential learning as the Externship Director at William Mitchell College of Law, Senior Counsel at Wells Fargo Corporation, and Assistant Attorney General at the Minnesota State Attorney General’s Office. She has served in a myriad of voluntary, leadership positions for community-based organizations, including the Minnesota Women Lawyers, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association – MN Chapter, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Asian Pacific Endowment Community Development Fund, and is a contributor to the Korean Quarterly. Melissa received her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from St. Olaf College.
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