This week, members of the Public Media Company board unanimously approved the addition of the Honorable Robert “Bob” Wise to the board of directors.
“We are excited to welcome Bob Wise to the board of Public Media Company,” said Susan Harmon, cofounder and board chair. “Bob brings a breadth of leadership and experience in education, governance, and public service that will help this organization fulfill its important mission.”
Former West Virginia Governor and Congressman Bob Wise has spent his career advancing education opportunities for our nation’s students. After leaving public office, he served as president for 14 years of the nonprofit Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed), a national leader in advocating the policies and practices necessary for secondary school students to be ready for postsecondary education and careers. In 2023, the Council of Chief State School Officers conferred its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, for his efforts to work across political party lines for innovative means to improve education. Bob was named one of the ten most influential people in education technology by Tech & Learning and one of NonProfit Times’s “Power & Influence Top 50.”
“Public media is an essential service and a public good,” said Governor Wise. “I’m honored to join the Public Media Company board and to help this valuable organization secure and cultivate service to local communities around the country.”
Bob currently focuses on driving the transformation of education systems that are rebuilding from COVID-19’s impact. He advocates for improving early literacy as an advisory board member of the University of California San Francisco Dyslexia Center and trustee of the Chartwell School in Seaside, CA that serves children with dyslexia and other reading challenges and conducts a teacher training institute for public school teachers. For six years, he chaired the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and is a cofounder of the Global Science of Learning Education Network. As part of his focus on improving access to higher education, he has served two terms as a commissioner on the WASC Senior College and University Commission. In 2013, he was awarded the Corporation of Public Broadcasting’s Thought Leader Award. He is the author of Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save our Youth and our Nation, which focuses on the importance of high school transformation.
Bob served twenty-four years as a governor, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a state legislator. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University and a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University.
“This is a critical moment for public media and an important moment of service for Public Media Company,” said Tim Isgitt, CEO. “Governor Wise has been a champion for public and independent media throughout his career. We will benefit from his commitment and expertise, and I’m thrilled to have him on our team.”
To learn more about our board, please visit: https://publicmedia.co/board/.
