2010 Keynote Speaker

Steven Bass serves as president and chief executive officer of Oregon Public Broadcasting since January 1, 2006. An independent, non-profit organization, OPB operates a network of a dozen radio stations providing news & information and five television stations and dozens of translators that provide broadcast service to 85% of Oregon's population as well as a significant number in Southwest Washington.

Under his leadership, OPB has increased its commitment to the region through an expansion of OPB's news operation to include the daily radio program, Think Out Loud, the establishment of opbnews.org (an online news site), and increased reach of OPB's programming into Eugene and other parts of Oregon previously under-served by news and information. These efforts have supplemented OPB's long-standing reporting on the environment (through the TV series, Oregon Field Guide, now in its 20th year) and arts/culture (through Oregon Art Beat, now in its 10th season).

In the last two years, OPB has been awarded two of the most prestigious awards for programming. In 2009, OPB was awarded the prestigious DuPont-Columbia journalism award for the television documentary, The Silent Invasion. In 2010, OPB was awarded a Peabody Award for its radio series, Hard Times. Both of these programs were produced in, about and for Oregon.

OPB is also among the largest producers of national programming for PBS. Along with producing many limited series and specials, History Detectives is now in its eighth season and is among the most-watched series on PBS.

Serving previously as founding president & CEO of Nashville Public Television for seven years, he oversaw that station's transition from government ownership to become an independent, non-profit public television station.

Prior to joining NPT, Bass served as vice president & manager of television stations for WGBH/Boston, where he rebuilt that station's local journalism through a new nightly television series, Greater Boston, a new arts/culture series, and enhancements to two long-standing minority affairs programs. Prior to his service with WGBH, Bass spent nine years with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Washington, DC.

He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of National Public Radio. From 2002 to 2004, Bass served as chairman of the Association of Public Television stations, the Washington-based trade association that represents public television stations to the Congress, the FCC and other government entities.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, with majors in economics and music. He also holds a Master of Arts in business from the University of Wisconsin's Graduate School of Business.

Oregon Telecom: The New Age of Broadband

15th annual
Oregon Connections Telecommunications Conference
Thursday and Friday, October 21 - 22, 2010
at the Hood River Inn, Hood River, OR

Register online to attend this year's conference.