Pressroom
For Immediate Release March 9, 2009
Joaquin Alvarado Named Senior Vice President for Diversity and Innovation for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Washington D.C. -- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Joaquín Alvarado as senior vice president for Diversity and Innovation effective June 30, 2009. As senior vice president for Diversity and Innovation, Alvarado will provide strategic guidance and leadership for strengthening the Corporation's capacity to serve as a catalyst for innovation and inclusion within public media as well as for broadening the reach and diversity of public media's audience.
Joaquín Alvarado has served as director of the San Francisco State University's Institute for Next Generation Internet (INGI) since its founding in 2005. Under his direction, INGI formed San Francisco's Digital Media Advisory Council and Digital Sister Cities initiative to connect communities around the world in efforts to stimulate economic development, innovation and diversity.
"In a world of shifting demographics and fast-paced technological change, the concepts of inclusion and innovation are business imperatives for public service media," said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. "Joaquín is a talented executive who understands the link between leadership and innovation, and innovation and the development and sustenance of a talented, diverse workforce."
In 2004, Joaquín Alvarado began architecting the National Public Lightpath as a framework for public media, education and community leadership in the future of the Internet. In 2008, Alvarado launched CoCo Studios to develop media collaboration and information platforms for fiber networks. Alvarado is also an award winning writer, producer and director. He is the author of "Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art: Artists, Works, Culture, and Education" (Bilingual Press) and a contributing author in "Teaching Ethnic Diversity with Film: Essays and Resources for Educators in History, Social Studies, Literature and Film Studies" (McFarland & Company). His films, including "The Silent Cross," have been featured in numerous film festivals, including the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival and the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.
Mr. Alvarado holds a B.A. in Chicano Studies from U.C. Berkeley and an M.F.A. from the UCLA School of Film, Television, and Digital Media. He has served on the board of directors for the Bay Area Video Coalition, the California Council for the Humanities, CineGrid, TechSoup Global, and Latino Public Broadcasting.
About CPB
CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 and is steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,100 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.