CONGRATULATIONS! V-Board Member Pat Mitchell Named One of "Women's eNews" "21 Leaders For the 21st Century"

http://www.womensenews.org/story/21-leaders-the-21st-century/111229/21-l...

V-Day is proud to announce that V-Board member Pat Mitchell was named one of Women's eNews "21 Leaders for the 21st Century"! The annual list features women leaders who have demonstrated throughout the year their commitment to improving the lives of women and girls and the capacity to continue to improve the future for all.

Pat Mitchell creates buzz wherever she goes and, dressed in a signature red suit and high heels, she gives off buzz too.

Since 2006, Mitchell has led the transformation of The Paley Center for Media in New York and Los Angeles from a sleepy museum of the golden years of radio and television to a hot spot for discussions, screenings and conferences. Fueled by her career-long commitment to engaging media's power to further empower women, she has created an unprecedented presence for women with a diverse series of initiatives called Women at Paley. It has included forums, a showcase of women who have helped shape the history of media and a current series of programs produced for PBS and hosted by Mitchell, called "She's Making Media."

Partnering with Springboard, Mitchell also offered the first venture capital forum for female media entrepreneurs and, with the Women's Media Center, programs to raise awareness of the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women and girls in mainstream media.

Growing up in Georgia, when women had very few mentors, role models or opportunities, Mitchell's activism on behalf of women was formed early by her participation in the civil rights movement and the women's movement. With a master's degree from the University of Georgia, she taught college for a few years until recruited by Look magazine, which folded a year later. Unemployed, Mitchell successfully pitched a story to NBC's local station news desk, and an unexpected career in television followed.

In 1974, Mitchell created a history-making event for women--24 hours of television programs about women, for women, produced and hosted by women. In the mid-1980s, Mitchell became the first woman to nationally syndicate her own show, "Woman to Woman," which won an Emmy. For NBC's TODAY, she reported women's stories and produced documentaries like "Women in War" and "Century of Women." Mitchell also led Ted Turner's original production division, producing documentaries that won 34 Emmys and two Academy Award nominations. In 2000, Mitchell was named president and CEO of Public Broadcasting Service, the first woman and first producer to hold the position.

In 2010, Mitchell partnered with the TED, the premiere global conference and online organization, to curate the first ever TEDWomen in Washington, DC, followed this year by TEDXWomen which was convened at the Paley Centers in New York and Los Angeles and connected live to 117 TEDxs worldwide. The TEDTalks from these two conferences have been viewed more than 10 million times, spreading the stories, ideas and innovations of women and girls.

"I've strongly felt that media's responsibility is to not just be the mirror of society, but also to engage its power to fully inform as well as entertain, to inspire as well as influence. I consider it a privilege to use my position in media to ensure that the ideas and stories of women and girls are more fully and accurately represented," she says.

Mitchell, who has been on the 100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood list and was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, was named to Newsweek's 2011 list of 150 Women Who Shake the World.

--Stephanie Yacenda