Marie Antoon
Executive Director
In 2002, Marie Antoon was named the first female executive director of Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB). Under Antoon’s leadership, a new vision was created for the network, which included a re-organization to bring television, educational services, radio and other services under a single brand name for the first time in the history of the organization. This new vision also resulted in the network expanding its locally-produced programs and award-winning documentaries such as Blues Divas, BestSellers, Beyond Katrina, Writers, and The Singing River: Rhythms of Nature. In 2004, the station began partnering with WGBH-Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. to produce the award-winning PBS children’s television program, Between the Lions, from its studio facilities in Jackson.
Antoon recently completed a three-year term on the Board of Directors of PBS, the private, nonprofit media enterprise that services the nation’s 349 public noncommercial television stations. As a PBS board member, she served on the committees for Nominating and Corporate Governance, Station Services, and National Policy.
Antoon has been recognized with a Special Merit Award from the Mississippi Wildlife Federation for her contribution to the station’s Emmy award-winning original documentary, The Singing River, and by the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with the Board of Governor’s Award. In 2005, she was selected as one of Mississippi’s 50 Leading Business Women.
She currently serves on the boards of the National Educational Telecommunications Association, the Mississippi Council for Education Technology, the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education, the Mississippi Blues Commission, and serves as a co-chair of the nationally-acclaimed Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration. She serves as an ex-officio member of the Governor’s Early Childhood Services Interagency Council and as a charter member of the Management Board for Mississippi’s new and original early childhood program, Excel by Five.
Antoon also serves on advisory boards for the MidSouth Partnership for Rural Community Colleges, Jackson State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. She serves as the President and C.E.O. of Mississippi EDNET Institute, Inc., a consortium of public and private partners that provides educational programming through a statewide Educational Broadband Service system.
Antoon began her career in broadcasting in 1976 with the Alabama Public Television Network. She served as director of the Teleproductions Resource Center and as assistant director of Resource Development at The University of Mississippi. From 1994 to 2001, she served as director of academic technologies with the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. A native Mississippian, Antoon holds a bachelor of arts degree in radio, television, and film from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master of social science degree from The University of Mississippi.
Jay Woods
Deputy Executive Director, Content
Woods is responsible for leading and managing the Content Operations Division, which includes television and radio production, news and public affairs, programming, and communications. He is responsible for the development, management and delivery of content through our television and radio networks, as well as interactive video, the web, and outreach.
Woods joined MPB in 2003 as Contracts and Grants Administrator where he was responsible for obtaining and managing several large grants that have allowed the agency to convert to digital operations. He was named Director of Human Resources and Contracts Management in 2004, where he developed and implemented a number of policies that improved the overall effectiveness of the agency.
Woods came to public broadcasting after practicing law for several years in the private sector. He received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Mississippi.
Ann Copland
Deputy Executive Director, Education
Copland oversees the programs and services provided to students and educators that are vital to the agency’s core mission--education. She serves as the in-house executive producer for the award-winning PBS children’s television program, Between the Lions and is also responsible for creating new children’s programs.
Copland spent the previous 30 years as a senior executive and legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Thad Cochran where she worked to ensure passage of legislation and funding for programs supporting public television, technology in education, arts education, rural early childhood education, foreign language education and economic education. She was recently recognized by the Association of Public Television Stations with a Champion of Public Broadcasting Award for significant contributions to the progress and growth of public television.
Copland has a degree in speech and communicating arts from Mississippi College and has been recognized with two Distinguished Alumna awards.
Maggie Gibson
Deputy Assistant Director, Administration
Gibson is responsible for managing the financial activities and fiscal health of the agency. She plays a key role in developing the agency’s annual budget and strategic and business plans relating to financial management. Gibson oversees the areas of accounting, internal audits, contracts and grants, facilities management, and property inventory.
Gibson has a long tenure at the agency, having served in every capacity in the Business Services Department, from grants accountant to chief financial officer.She has guided the agency through two financial system conversions and has been instrumental in developing internal operational procedures for grants and contracts.
She has degrees from Jackson State College and Jackson State University and is an active member of the Public Broadcasting Management Association.
Bob Buie
Deputy Executive Director, Technical Services
Buie is responsible for providing leadership, management and technical guidance for the statewide network of eight analog and digital television stations and eight radio stations. He also oversees the network’s statewide microwave system, as well as a state-of-the-art digital mobile production unit and an interactive video network that reaches almost 200 classroom sites throughout the state. In his new position, Buie will oversee the planning, design and expansion of MPB’s High Definition network of television and radio stations.
Buie joined MPB in 2004 and was named Assistant Director for Technical Services in October 2005, where he was instrumental in the oversight of a newly designed Master Control facility equipped with state-of-the-art HD digital technology and production equipment in the Jackson studios.
As a native Mississippian and with over thirty years of experience in broadcast engineering, Buie is uniquely positioned to successfully deliver the programs and services that are relevant to Mississippians through multiple platforms of emerging broadcast technology.
He is a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers-Mississippi Chapter.
|
