Valley PBS taps filmmaker Jeff Aiello as CEO

Documentary filmmaker Jeff Aiello has been named CEO of Valley PBS in Fresno, Calif., according to a press release posted on a local news site. 

Prior to joining the station, Aiello started 18THIRTY Entertainment, a video production company. He was EP for programs that aired on Valley PBS, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Aiello replaces Lorenzo Rios. Valley PBS Board Chair Karen Musson told Clovis Roundup, a local news outlet, that Rios resigned last month. 

Musson did not respond to Current’s requests for comment. 

The Valley PBS board also named Nancy Borjas COO, according to the release. Borjas was previously the station’s director of administrative operations and has more than 12 years of experience at Valley PBS.

Phyllis Brotherton, a retired Valley PBS executive, said in a Visalia Times Delta commentary that the leadership change and an exit of staffers in the last few years has her concerned about the future of the station.

The station cut staff in March 2020 because of the pandemic, according to GV Wire, a local news site. 

“Though some positions have been filled, is there anyone left with the institutional knowledge to pick up the pieces, or is something crucial being lost, and possibly never recovered, along the way?” Brotherton wrote.

“Donors, members and sponsors can be assured that Valley PBS is well positioned to deliver our mission and do even greater work in the days and months ahead,” Musson said in the release.