President and CEO
Edward Ulman is the President & CEO of Alaska Public Media (AKPM), Alaska’s largest PBS, NPR and statewide news organization. Ulman joined AKPM in May 2016. Since his arrival, Ulman lead teams that revitalized local television production, expanded statewide enterprise journalism efforts, established AKPM as a CPB-PBS Ready To Learn station, and redefined community engagement, while increasing TV, radio and online audiences. In addition, membership, major giving, and grant funding continue to grow year-over-year. Most recently, AKPM earned several NATAS Regional Emmy awards, several Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, and a National Edward R. Murrow Award for video journalism.
Ulman lead teams that shifted community engagement activities by focusing on localizing national content while also delivering Alaskan stories to national public media audiences. For example, in addition to executive producing Debate for the State, which aired nationally on C-SPAN, AKPM video news packages continue to air on PBS NewsHour. AKPM’s reporters regularly contribute stories on various NPR programs and AKPM partnered with NPR to distribute “Midnight Oil,” an eight-part podcast covering the 40-year history of the Alaskan Oil Pipeline, that garnered over one million downloads. Indie Alaska, a partnership with PBS Digital, just completed season ten.
Ulman serves on the PBS Board of Directors, America’s Public Television Board of Trustees, the Alaska Broadcasters Association Board of Directors, and the United Way of Anchorage Board of Directors.
Before being selected by AKPM, Ulman served as Development Director, Interim General Manager, and after a national search that concluded in 2014, Executive Director and General Manager for KBTC Public Television in Tacoma, Washington. In 2013, PBS President Paula Kerger acknowledged KBTC’s Ready To Learn partnership with the Tacoma Housing Authority in an interview on CNN and again, at the PBS Annual Meeting. With his Seattle counterpart at KCTS 9, Ulman received the Association of Public Television Stations 2015 National Advocacy Award.
In addition to his public television responsibilities, Ulman served as Dean of Instruction for the Bates Technical College broadcast, audio, video production and digital media programs. Ulman is also a jazz musician and performing arts enthusiast. He began his public broadcasting career, first as volunteer fundraising talent on KUAT-TV and KUAZ-FM in Tucson, Arizona, and then at New Mexico PBS in Albuquerque, where as Education and Outreach Manager, he led teams that earned a National Educational Television Association award for Take One Step: A Women’s Health Initiative in 2007 and a PBS Development Award for KNME Science Central in 2008. Ulman has served on the PBS Teacher’s Advisory Panel, the WGBH Teacher’s Domain Implementation Advisory Committee and KCET’s A Place of Our Own Station Advisory Committee.