Patricia de Stacy Harrison is the president and chief executive officer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the leading funder of public radio and public television programming for the American people.

Ms. Harrison is focused on strengthening public service media through content that educates, inspires and informs; greater innovation; and engagement beyond the broadcast comprising diverse publics and partners.

Prior to joining CPB, Ms. Harrison served as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. In this dual capacity, she created CultureConnect, a citizen diplomat program comprising artists, musicians and athletes, as well as Partnerships for Learning, a global initiative that provided young people with enhanced education and economic opportunity. Ms. Harrison also directed the historic resumption of the Fulbright Program in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ms. Harrison became president and chief executive officer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on June 23, 2005.

A former entrepreneur, Ms. Harrison is a frequent speaker and writer on the subjects of leadership, communication strategy and constituency building. In addition to many articles, she has authored two books, A Seat At The Table: An Insider's Guide for America's New Women Leaders and America's New Women Entrepreneurs. She is the founder and former president of the National Women's Economic Alliance, working to identify women and minorities for leadership roles in business and politics.

Ms. Harrison received her BA from American University, Washington DC, and an honorary doctorate from the American University of Rome in 2002. She is a former Thomas Colloquium on Free Enterprise guest lecturer at Youngstown State University, Ohio. In 2000, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Public Service of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania. In 1992, she was a Visiting Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Ms. Harrison is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the 2008 Leadership Award from the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities; the U.S. Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award; the Ana G. Mendez Excellence in Education Award, from the Ana G. Mendez University System in Puerto Rico; the Special Achievement Award for Education from the National Italian American Foundation; Global Women's Leadership Award; Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award; and Northwood Institute’s Outstanding Business Leader (2006) and Distinguished Women's Award (1991).

She is a member of the boards of the National Italian American Foundation and The American University in Rome; former President of Capital Press Women; and a former chairman of the board, Guest Services, Inc.

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