Rededication Ceremony of the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station: Speaker Bios
Rededication Ceremony of the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station
May 2, 2012
Speaker Bios
Casey Murrow
Casey Murrow is Executive Director of Synergy Learning, a non-profit organization based in Brattleboro, Vermont, that supports math and science teachers through publications and professional education. He has designed and conducted long-term programs for teachers in many school districts in the northeast, as well as in California, Alaska and on the Hopi reservation in Arizona. He has co-authored several books on elementary and pre-school education, including two series supported by the National Science Foundation that focus on linking science, math and literacy. For six years before founding Synergy Learning, Casey served on the faculty of the University of Vermont. On behalf of his family, he is the executor of the literary estate of his father, Edward R. Murrow.
Congressman Walter Jones
Walter Jones was first sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995, after serving 10 years as an elected member of the North Carolina General Assembly. Jones strongly believes in the strength of faith and family and has worked to represent the citizens of Eastern North Carolina with both honor and integrity.
Since entering office, Congressman Jones has fought for effective, commonsense government, tax relief for American families, retirement security for seniors, a strong national defense, trade equity, and quality education. Jones is a spokesman for pro-life views.
Currently serving his 9th term in Congress, Congressman Jones is a member of the House Committees on Armed Services and Financial Services.
Victor H. Ashe
Victor H. Ashe was appointed to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in July 2010. Ambassador Ashe holds the distinction of being the longest serving mayor of Knoxville. During his time in office, from 1988 to 2003, he was the President to the U.S. Conference of Mayors from 1994 to 1995 and received their Distinguished Service Award for Leadership in 2003.
Ashe served as the United States Ambassador to Poland from June 2004 to October 2009. In 2004, he was a Fellow at Harvard University’s JFK Institute of Politics. Five U.S. Presidents, beginning with President Ronald Reagan, have named Ashe to different federal positions. He will be the first former Ambassador and local elected official to serve on the BBG. Ashe serves on the BBG Governance and the Strategy and Budget Committees and is Corporate Board Vice Chair of Radio Free Asia.
Richard M. Lobo
Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau
Richard Lobo was named Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau in September 2010. The IBB Director operates as an extension of the Broadcasting Board of Governors in its oversight of US international broadcasting.
Prior to his appointment as director of the IBB, Lobo served as chairman of the Florida Public Broadcasting Service, Inc. He was also president and chief executive officer of WEDU (PBS) Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota. Lobo previously was president and general manager of WTVJ in Miami, station manager of WNBC-TV in New York, and vice president and general manager of NBC stations in Chicago and Cleveland. He served as director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting in the mid-1990s. An Emmy Award-winning journalist, Lobo has also been honored with the New York Black Citizens for a Fair Media’s Community Service Award, the Wall Street Chapter of IMAGE’s Hispanic Executive Award, and the Leadership Award of the Chicago Latino Committee on the Media. Under his direction as general manager of WTVJ, the station won the Peabody Award, the duPont Award, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for its coverage of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Andre Mendes
Director, Office of Technology, Services and Innovation
The Director of the Office of Technology, Services and Innovation provides executive leadership in the planning, development, and operation of all the engineering and technical systems necessary to communicate with the people of the world by radio, TV, and the Internet, including a world-wide satellite and transmitting station network, as well as planning for the use of new technological improvements and efficiencies.
André Mendes most recently served as senior vice president, strategic planning and global CIO, for Special Olympics International, managing the organization’s global technology infrastructure, the development of the 2011-2015 Special Olympics Strategic Plan and administering the Christmas Record Trust Fund. Previously he served as Chief Technology Integration Officer for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where he was responsible for both Information Technology and Broadcast Engineering during the Service’s $1.8 billion transition to digital television and managed PBS’ migration from a legacy tape-based environment to a ground breaking, entirely file-driven content workflow.
André has received numerous industry awards for his work, including one of the 2008 MIT Awards for IT Innovation.