Producer/videographer/editor

Northern California Public Media

Age: 24

Hannah Lee kneels on a grassy bluff near the ocean, smiling while preparing a drone. She wears a green jacket and a Northern California Public Media cap, with a red equipment case open beside her.
Lee sets up for drone photography of the Sonoma Coast. (Photo: Charles Loi)

In three words: Creative, professional, kind

What colleagues say: Hannah was an independent contractor for a youth educational initiative, our CPB/Poynter Digital Transformation project. Hannah wrote and hosted My Planet, My Voice, the YouTube series created through the project. She stayed on to produce and host Prepare Yourself!, a skit-based TV series about public safety. We hired Hannah as soon as a full-time position became available. She is an excellent storyteller, project manager, editor and writer.

What Hannah says

Decision to work in public media: My work has always been rooted in a passion for education around the critical climate and environmental issues of our time as well as the social, political and economic factors that drive them. I was first drawn to NorCal Public Media for its strong environmental reporting and got involved in 2022 as the host of its youth digital initiative My Planet, My Voice.

Key accomplishments: I’m currently a producer and co-director of our station’s new docuseries Climate California. We’ve traveled all over the state and met with scientists, activists, thought leaders and those fighting to build a new story of climate change — one that is innovative, hopeful and empowering. We’ve already begun local broadcast and streaming on PBS Passport and will be launching the series nationally with PBS Plus in January 2026.

Inspired by: I find a lot of inspiration in works of nonfiction that combine robust scientific information with poetry and art. I have huge respect for storytellers who go deep in their research and find ways to make that information accessible and meaningful to a wider audience. It’s super-easy to feel discouraged with all that is happening or not happening! But continuing to explore stories of hope and resilience is a great way to stay grounded.

Advice for young public media professionals: Put time and energy into getting to know yourself. I’ve learned a lot from questions like: Why am I doing this work? How can I best contribute to the causes I believe in? What am I passionate about? I like to keep the answers open-ended and revisit them often. Also, eat well. It just makes everything better.

Advice for public media leaders: Curate your team carefully. Having folks on board who are skilled, passionate, personable and reliable makes a huge difference in the efficacy of an organization and the experience of others who work there.

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