PBS Foundation

About PBS Foundation

Maynard E. Orme

President Emeritus, Oregon Public Broadcasting
Founding Trustee, PBS Foundation Board of Directors

Maynard E. Orme is currently President Emeritus of Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). He has been with OPB since 1986. Prior to OPB, he was general manager of KTEH, Channel 54 in San Jose, California for 13 years, and was Director of Education Services at KCET, Los Angeles for five years. He also produced many arts and education programs for public television.

Orme graduated from Fresno High School in 1954. In 1961, he received his bachelor's degree in music from the University of California at Berkeley. After service in the U.S. Army, he received his Masters in Theater Arts (Radio & Television major) from UCLA in 1967. In 1978 he earned his Ph.D. in Education from UCLA.

Orme was on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Board from 1984-90, serving two years as Vice Chair, and was re-elected to the PBS Board from 1999-2005. He is also a founding Trustee of the PBS Foundation Board which was chartered in 2004. He was a member of the Organization of State Broadcast Executives (OSBE) and served as its Chair from 1993-1995. Additionally, he served on America's Public Television Stations (APTS) Board from 1992-1998, and was the Vice Chair for two years. Orme was a Council member on the National Forum for Public Television Executives which dissolved in 2004. He was also a member of the Oregon Ed-Net Board of Directors from 1987 to 1997. From 1998 to 2001, Orme served on the board of Pacific Islanders in Communication. He is currently serving on the board of Native American Public Telecommunications, and is an advisory board member of the National Center for Outreach, as well as OASIS.

Orme joined the Portland Rotary Club in 1987 and was President from 1994-95. He was a member of the San Jose Rotary Club until 1986. He also serves on the White Bird Board, an organization dedicated to bringing quality dance troupes to Portland. He is a founding member of the Portland Police Activities League, an organization designed to work with youth in sports and recreation activities to help them become better citizens. He is currently Vice Chair of Life by Design Northwest, a nine institution consortium in Portland designed to re-engage the baby boomer generation in civic activities as they end their formal work years.

Orme has two daughters, one is a graduate of UCLA and working in the Los Angeles film and TV industry, and the other graduated from UC San Diego and is a teacher in the Saratoga, California School District. Orme has been a train aficionado since childhood. His other hobbies include jogging, photography, music, and drums.

Orme's passion is education and he believes that constant learning and the application of that knowledge in a work or personal environment is the essential key to success and satisfaction in one's life. That belief is what drives him to make OPB, and his other work, an important learning resource for Oregonians and southwest Washingtonians.