Dorothy “Kitty” Lensman will become president and CEO July 1 of Public Media Connect Inc., the Ohio pubcasting partnership.
Lensman will replace David Fogarty, who announced this month that he will retire this summer. Public Media Connect is a partnership of CET in Cincinnati, ThinkTV in Dayton and the Southwestern Ohio Instructional Technology Association.
Lensman has worked in public media for more than 30 years and has been Public Media Connect’s COO since 2014.
“The Board of Trustees is tremendously pleased to appoint Kitty Lensman as our next president. Kitty brings a commitment to public broadcasting, extensive experience with our organization and others, and a strong connection to the communities that CET and ThinkTV serve,” said Carrie Haley, PMC’s board chair, in a news release. “We look forward to working with her and her leadership.”
Lensman joined ThinkTV in 1999. She received several promotions, including to senior manager of marketing and business development in 2003, station manager in 2009 and then COO.
Prior to ThinkTV, she worked for KPBS in San Diego, South Florida PBS and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“I have been fortunate to have a rewarding career in public broadcasting,” Lensman said in the release. “Working for an organization dedicated to education and distributing the highest quality of programming is an extraordinary opportunity. It is an honor to be selected as the next President and CEO. I look forward to working with our committed Board, talented staff, generous donors and valued community partners.”
“I am very pleased for both PMC and for Kitty as she becomes president,” said Fogarty, who will step down June 30. “She will be a capable and skilled leader, and CET and ThinkTV will offer an extraordinary opportunity to grow their educational, informational and cultural service to our region.”