Shae Hopkins, KET executive director and CEO, was recently elected by her peers to serve a second three-year term as a professional director on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Board of Directors. Hopkins was initially elected to the PBS Board of Directors for a three-year term in 2013, and her renewal appointment ensures her seat as a professional director through 2019.

Member stations from across the country cast their ballots for this important position, and Hopkins, along with the other board members, will be responsible for governing and setting policy for PBS.

“I’m very honored to have been re-elected to the PBS Board of Directors. This is a testament to the respect that public broadcasting leaders across the country have for KET and its importance to the system,” said Hopkins. “It underscores KET’s reputation as one of the leading public broadcasting services in the nation.”

“Shae Hopkins is a dedicated and innovative public media leader,” said PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger. “Her focus on education and effective, mission-driven management has greatly strengthened KET and our system as a whole. I am both pleased and grateful that Shae has been elected by our member stations to a second term on the PBS Board.”

Prior to being named KET’s executive director in 2010, Hopkins – a 30-year veteran of the agency – had served in a number of KET management positions, including deputy executive director and the founding president of the Commonwealth Fund for KET. She has been recognized with various industry awards, including the 2011 National Advocacy Award from the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS). She is a past chair of the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) Board of Directors and was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the inaugural board of Digital Promise (National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies) in 2011. She serves on the Organization of State Broadcasters Board of Directors.

As KET’s executive director and CEO, Hopkins has focused on strengthening KET’s partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education and other state and national institutions and on developing innovative educational resources in early childhood education, K-12, and adult education. Under her leadership, KET has become a leading partner in PBS LearningMedia, a national digital repository for the classroom, and has expanded its services in early childhood education and teacher training.

Additionally, during Hopkins’ tenure, KET launched Fast Forward, an online, computer-based GED^® test-preparation system, that has been lauded nationally for its high success rate: an independent research report confirmed that 9 out of 10 students who used Fast Forward as a study aid before taking all four sections of the GED^® exam earned their GED^® credential.

Hopkins has also overseen a sharp rise in KET’s viewing audience: KET’s primetime viewership has increased 66% over the last ten years, and the station currently enjoys the highest primetime viewership in its history.

And, realizing that in today’s world KET’s viewers aren’t just television-users, Hopkins has spearheaded KET’s efforts to make content more accessible on leading digital platforms, including mobile devices and social media, in order to provide KET’s resources to citizens, students and teachers whenever and wherever they need it.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, serving more than one million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization on Twitter @KET and facebook.com/KET and at KET.org.

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