Public Media Group of Southern California President & CEO Andy Russell is a 25-year veteran of public broadcasting, having held senior executive leadership positions at both PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A California native, Russell holds an MBA from Stanford University, an MPA from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis.
Russell joined PBS SoCal as COO in 2013 and played a key role in building PBS SoCal as it grew into the role of flagship PBS station for Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. In 2018, PBS SoCal KOCE merged with KCET to form the Public Media Group of Southern California. The merger of equals created a center for public media innovation and creativity that serves the more than 18 million people living in the Southern California region. Establishing a powerful PBS flagship organization on the West Coast, the historic union of these two storied institutions created the opportunity to produce more original programs for multiple channels and platforms that address the diverse community in Southern California and the nation, and innovate new community engagement experiences that educate, inform, entertain, and empower. The new organization is committed to telling stories that matter, creating original programs that reflect the diversity of the region and sharing the full schedule of PBS programs that viewers love and trust. Andy mention some of the new shows that would be airing including Ken Burns Country Music, Verner Von Braun, Coco the Chip, The Summer of Space, and Frank Lloyd Wright. In addition to these, well-loved PBS programs such as Masterpiece Theater will continue. Also each year one million children will be preparing for kindergarten by watching such programs as Sesame Street. Under Andy Russell’s leadership Public Television in Southern California has grown and increased in variety.