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May 22, 2024 – NEWARK, NJ – Public Media NJ, Inc. (PMNJ), operator of NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public media network, announced the addition of two new members to its Board of Trustees: Natalya G. Johnson, Esq., Senior Director and Senior Counsel at Johnson & Johnson and Andy Tsao, Chief Product and Analytics Officer at Audible.
“We are honored to have Natalya and Andy join our Board,” said Chairman Scott Kobler. “Their professional expertise and connectivity in the state will be instrumental in the future growth of NJ PBS.”
Natalya G. Johnson, Esq. serves as Senior Director and Senior Counsel for Johnson & Johnson. She is a skilled corporate counsel with expertise in employment strategies, litigation, and impactful community leadership. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, she represented private and public sector clients in federal and state court litigation and trial matters. She started her career as an attorney fellow with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ). She serves as President of the Garden State Bar Foundation, Inc. (GSBF) and is the Immediate Past-President of the Garden State Bar Association (GSBA). Under her leadership, the GSBA established its first endowed scholarship fund benefiting underrepresented law students and created the Wellness and Mental Health committee addressing the mental health needs of legal professionals in New Jersey. She serves as co-chair of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Committee on Wellness in the Profession and is a member of the State of New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Task Force. She served on the Exec. Board of Directors of Cornell Law School’s Alumni Association and was past President of the Cornell Black Lawyers Alumni Network, where she led scholarship fundraising efforts and spearheaded North American alumni/mentorship programs. Johnson has been widely recognized for her excellence in law and as a thought leader. Her recognitions include being named a Professional Lawyer of the Year honoree by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law (2020); a ROI-NJ Influencer Women in Business and Power lister (2022, 2023, 2024); a Salute to Policy Makers honoree by Executive Women of New Jersey (2022); Attorney of Year by the New Jersey Law Journal (2023); and she is the recipient of community partner awards from the African American Chamber of Commerce of NJ and the South Asian Bar Association of NJ. She holds a B.A. degree from Cornell University, graduating magna cum laude, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.
Andy Tsao is the Chief Product and Analytics Officer of Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling. He is a data-driven leader with a track record of successfully delivering innovative and impactful technology solutions that delight customers. He joined Audible in 2018 and leads the teams that plan, build and measure product experiences and craft Audible’s technical strategy – including Product Management, UX/Design, Data Science, Analytics, Research, and Economics. The Product and UX teams define user experience across mobile apps, web, voice, car, and visual surfaces — ensuring customers can easily discover and listen to stories they love anywhere they want, and that creators can share their stories with the broadest audience. As one of the innovation engines of the company, Tsao’s team imagines and invents new features and capabilities, ranging from use-case specific features to new applications leveraging next-generation technologies like immersive audio and AI. The insights, science, and economics teams power data-driven strategy and decision-making across Audible, both by measuring how well customer needs are met and by creating cutting-edge models and tools to enhance customers’ experiences. Audible is proudly based in Newark, NJ. As part of the executive leadership team, he participates in the company’s charitable and development commitments to the city, and also serves as executive sponsor of Audible’s Asians@ employee resource group. Prior to joining Audible, Tsao held leadership roles directing product, revenue management, strategy, analytics, and data teams at Hotels.com, Expedia, and American Airlines. He has an MBA from The University of Texas, Austin, and a Biochemistry degree from Western Washington University.
Johnson and Tsao join the current roster of PMNJ Board members: Chairman Scott Kobler, Partner of McCarter & English, LLP; Vice-Chair Liz Thomas, CEO of Thomas/Boyd Communications; Thomas Bracken, President and CEO of New Jersey Chamber of Commerce; Hans Dekker, President of the Community Foundation of New Jersey; The Honorable Thomas H. Kean, Former Governor of New Jersey; Christopher M. Lepre, Executive Vice President, Commercial Business, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey; Elizabeth T. Mazzeo, Retired Chief Administrative Officer of Bloomberg LP; Barry H. Ostrowsky, Retired President and Chief Executive Officer, RWJBarnabas Health; Christopher Paladino, President of the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO); Richard Pechter, retired Chairman of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette; Neal Shapiro, President/CEO of PMNJ and its parent company, The WNET Group; Robert L. Smartt, Retired, Deputy State Treasurer, NJ Treasury Department; Richard T. Thigpen, Senior Vice President – Corporate Citizenship, Public Service Enterprise Group; Denise Venuti Free, Senior Director of Communications and External Affairs, New Jersey American Water; Carol Voorhees, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, NJM; and Josh Weston, Honorary Chairman and Former CEO of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP).
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ABOUT NJ PBS
NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public media network, brings quality arts, education, and public affairs programming to all 21 counties in the state. Headquartered at the Agnes Varis NJ PBS Studio in Newark, the network offers diverse local programs including American Songbook at NJPAC, Chat Box with David Cruz, New Jersey Business Beat with Raven Santana, Here’s the Story, Drive By History, One-on-One with Steve Adubato, Soundcheck, State of the Arts, Table for All with Buki Elegbede and Treasures of New Jersey and PBS favorites such as Nature, NOVA, Amanpour and Company and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Its award-winning newsroom, NJ Spotlight News, provides multiplatform reporting from across the Garden State on its weeknight newscast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi, and digitally via NJSpotlightNews.org, plus live news specials, community engagement events, podcasts and daily newsletters. The MyNJPBS.org network website offers streaming programs and free digital resources for educators via PBS LearningMedia New Jersey. NJ PBS is operated under an agreement with the state of New Jersey by Public Media NJ, Inc. (PMNJ), a non-profit affiliate of The WNET Group, the parent company of award-winning New York public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21. |
