PBS Names PBS SoCal and KCET’s Maura Daly Phinney As 2021 C. Scott Elliott Development Professional of the Year
CONTACT
JP Shields
jpshields@pmgsocal.org
747.201.5886
Los Angeles, Calif. – May 13, 2021 – Public Media Group of Southern California, the parent company of PBS SoCal and KCET, today announced that Vice President of Membership Maura Daly Phinney has been named as the recipient of the 2021 C. Scott Elliott Development Professional of the Year Award by PBS. The award was established in 1990 in memory of Scott Elliott, who raised more than $100 million for PBS member stations in Detroit, Buffalo and Cincinnati over the course of his career and was a standard bearer for integrity and professionalism in public media development. Phinney was honored for her passion and commitment to public television, as well as for her inspiring leadership and outstanding work done to move the public media system forward.
Before joining PBS SoCal, Phinney held a variety of fundraising and production positions at WETA in Washington D.C., KQED/KTEH in San Francisco and KPBS in San Diego. She is currently overseeing all membership fundraising efforts for PBS SoCal and KCET – on-air, online and direct mail. Under Phinney’s leadership, there has been tremendous growth helping solidify the financial health and sustainability of the organization and now counts more than 150,000 active members across seven Southern California counties. Since joining PBS SoCal, she has increased unique donors by 51 percent, grown the percentage of sustainers from 10 percent to 47 percent, and has contributed to a membership revenue increase of 42 percent—from $11.5 million to $16.5 million. Phinney launched the station’s successful Sustaining Member and Producer’s Club programs as well as transformed the membership fundraising team into one of the top performers in the country. She has contributed across various departments over the years, as a content producer, pledge program producer and development leader, among others.
Phinney has produced over 200 programs, series and fundraising specials that have been distributed nationally by PBS. Those programs include Panda Tales, A Salute to Vienna, Tommy Emmanuel: Live from the Balboa Theatre, Quincy Jones Presents: Sheléa, Zoltan Maga and David Foster: Live from Budapest, Yakov Smirnoff’s Happily Ever Laughter and many local programs including the Emmy® nominated special Dodgers Stories: 6 Decades in LA. She has won numerous awards including an Emmy and several Telly awards.
The C. Scott Elliott Award is part of the PBS Development Awards, which recognizes member stations for outstanding corporate support, membership and philanthropy efforts in local communities. Among the previous winners of the C. Scott Elliott Award are Tom Karlo, Jon Abbott, Tom Axtell, Don Derheim, Glenn Fisher, Kent Geist, Paula Kerger, Paige Meriwether, Dan Metziga, Russ Peotter, David Preston, Lisa Tait, Mel Waggoner, Earl Blauner, Sue Ellen Stuebing and Rob Hilbert.
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About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’ premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by followingPBS Communications on Twitter
About PBS SOCAL and KCET
PBS SoCal and KCET are both part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California. PBS SoCal is the flagship PBS station for diverse people across California and delivers content and experiences that inspire, inform and educate. PBS SoCal offers the full slate of beloved PBS programs including MASTERPIECE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE, and a broad library of documentary films with works from Ken Burns; as well as educational content including PBS KIDS programs like DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and CURIOUS GEORGE. KCET is on-air, online and in the community, and plays a vital role in the cultural enrichment of Southern California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions and its website, kcet.org. For additional information about both KCET and PBS SoCal productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org and pbssocal.org KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV.
About the Public Media Group of Southern California
The Public Media Group of Southern California (PMGSC) tells stories that matter through original programs that reflect the diversity of our region, and through the full schedule of trusted PBS programs. Our Southern California content channels PBS SoCal and KCET are available over-the-air in the Los Angeles market with programming available to stream on the free PBS App. Our Link TV channel is available nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network. A donor-supported community institution, PMGSC sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations and delivers social impact through a variety of services including those that prepare our most vulnerable children for school.
