PBS announced today that Cecilia Loving will join the organization as the Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Reporting directly to President and CEO Paula Kerger, Loving will develop organizational strategy, provide ongoing advice and counsel, and cultivate future partnerships for PBS.
As an integral member of PBS’s senior leadership team, Loving will identify opportunities to build on PBS’s internal commitment to DEI and collaborate across departments to evaluate current business practices. She will also work with the public television system to support stations’ ongoing efforts around DEI.
“Cecilia is an accomplished leader who has extensive experience driving inclusive and equitable strategies,” said Kerger. “As a system that serves every person in every community, reflecting the full range of the American experience is central to the mission of public television, and Cecilia will play an integral role in deepening our longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Loving comes to PBS from the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), where she served as Deputy Commissioner, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the FDNY’s more than 17,000 members. She previously worked as a Law Enforcement Bureau Attorney and EEO Counselor for NYC’s Commission on Human Rights, as well as a litigator at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, Kramer Levin, and the Legal Aid Society. Loving chaired the Board of Directors for the Practicing Attorneys for Law Students, Inc., one of the first diversity and inclusion organization in the legal profession. She was also co-founder and Chair of the NYC Bar Association’s first Committee on Mindfulness and Well-Being in the Law.
"PBS is one of the most trusted institutions in America, impacting people of all ethnicities, ages, and other demographics. My goal is to build upon PBS’s strong foundation through transparency, trust, and ongoing collaboration with employees and key stakeholders across the public media system,” said Loving.
In addition to obtaining her JD from NYU School of Law, Cecilia obtained her BFA from Howard University, MFA from UCLA and MDiv from NY Theological Seminary. She is certified in Diversity and Inclusion by Yale and Cornell Universities, Restorative Circle Keeping by Planning Change, Walking in Balance with a Racial Justice Lens by Strong Oak Lefebvre, and Courageous Conversations by the Winters Group.
She is a winner of the National Diversity Council’s 2021 Top 100 Diversity Officers Award; the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ 2021 Innovation Award for FDNY’s Inclusive Culture Strategy; Lawline’s Top Women Faculty of 2020 Award; the City Bar Association’s 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award; and ABC News’ First Responder Friday Award. She is author of several books, including The Power of Inclusion; Good Medicine; Unbroken Circles; God is a Brown Girl Too; Prayers for Those Standing on the Edge of Greatness; and Ten Laws of Unlimited Success.