Pat Mitchell

Week of August 1, 2026

Pat Mitchell, a pioneering journalist, producer, and media executive, has spent her career breaking new ground for women and amplifying underrepresented voices. She produced the award-winning series A Century of Women, launched Woman to Woman—the first national television program owned, produced, and hosted by a woman—and, as President of CNN Productions, oversaw films that earned numerous national honors. As the first woman President and CEO of PBS, she led the digital transition of public broadcasting and successfully defended its federal funding. Later, as CEO of the Paley Center for Media in New York and Los Angeles, she convened global leaders to examine the media’s role in shaping culture and society. A lifelong activist, Mitchell is now focused on advancing women’s leadership as a catalytic force for addressing the global climate crisis through Project Dandelion, the women-led movement she co-founded. She serves on the boards of the Skoll Foundation, the Woodruff Arts Center, and the Sundance Institute (as Trustee and former Chair), Emeritus Chair of the Women’s Media Center, and the IMAGINE mission board. She is a founding member of the board of V-Day, a global campaign to end violence against the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, and she’s also a member of CARE’s Global Advisory Council. In her memoir, “Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World,” Pat shares her journey as a frontline advocate for a just, equitable and sustainable world.