PBS CEO salary and executive pay
Public Broadcasting Service paid its CEO, Paula A Kerger, $1,602,897 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $319,766 (24.9%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. Total revenue on that return was $696,585,777, up 24.8% from $558,177,775 for the fiscal year ending June 2024. Public Broadcasting Service ranks 18th of 45 major nonprofits on this site by CEO pay. Public Broadcasting Service has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. Also known as Public Broadcasting Service.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 52-0899215, Arlington, VA.
CEO, fiscal year ending June 2025
$1,602,897
- Total revenue
- $696,585,777
- CEO pay vs. peers
- Higher than 75%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202631289349302363.View the filing
Peers: the 330 other organizations on this site with revenue of $500 million to $5 billion. Ranked 82nd of 331 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.23% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
This is PBS national. Member stations are separate organizations with their own leaders.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 9 people were paid more than $500,000, 1 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Paula A Kerger CEO President & CEO | $1,602,897 |
| Jonathan BarzilayChief Operating Officer | $866,097 |
| Ira RubensteinChief Digital & Marketing Officer | $737,464 |
| Katherine LauderdaleChief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | $632,537 |
| Rhonda HoltChief Technology Officer | $622,488 |
Also paid on the latest return: Thomas E Tardivo (Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer), $615,292; Sylvia Bugg (Chief Programming Executive & GM, General Audience Programming), $530,296; Jeremy Gaines (SVP, Corporate Communications), $504,295; Scott Nourse (SVP, Product & Innovation), $501,713; Michael D Jacobson (SVP, Human Resources), $481,146; Sara E DeWitt (SVP & GM, PBS KIDS), $478,012; Cecilia B Loving (SVP, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (THRU 02/25)), $448,078; Susanne Elkins (SVP, Station Services), $431,085; Jill Patrone (VP & Deputy General Counsel), $401,390; Mary Plantamura (Associate GC, Corporate Secretary & PBS Compliance Office (THRU 10/24)), $348,653.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Amy Shaw (Director), Bob Culkeen (Director (As of 06/25)), Carla McCabe (Director (As of 09/24)), Catherine Robb (PBS Board Vice-Chair), Chuck Hagel (Director), Courtney Pledger (PBS Board Vice-Chair (THRU 05/25)), Dolores Fernandez Alonso (Director), Ed Ulman (Director), Franz Joachim (Director (THRU 06/25)), Geoff Sands (Director), Greg Petrowich (Director), Gunjan Kedia (Director), Holden Thorp (Director), Jayme Swain (PBS Board Vice-Chair), Jorge Plasencia (Director (THRU 05/25)), Kevin Martin (Director (THRU 09/24)), Larry Irving (PBS Board Chair), Lisa Shumate (Director (THRU 05/25)), Mark Contreras (Director), Marvin Irby (Director), Maxine Clark (Director), Michael Isip (Director), Mildred Garcia (Director), Rob Dunlop (Director), Sandra Cordova Micek (Director), and 4 more.
CEO pay by year
Each row is the CEO on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | Paula A Kerger CEO President & CEO | $1,602,897 | $696,585,777 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | Paula A Kerger CEO President & CEO | $1,283,131 | $558,177,775 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | Paula A Kerger CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,168,661 | $544,038,860 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | Paula A Kerger CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,143,633 | $542,977,687 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending June 2025.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202631289349302363.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Paula A KergerPresident & CEO | $1,471,435 | $131,462 | $884,849 | $537,050 | $49,536 | $69,000 | $62,462 | $1,602,897 |
| Jonathan BarzilayChief Operating Officer | $768,991 | $97,106 | $535,903 | $208,825 | $24,263 | $58,650 | $38,456 | $866,097 |
| Ira RubensteinChief Digital & Marketing Officer | $646,467 | $90,997 | $458,323 | $174,275 | $13,869 | $44,850 | $46,147 | $737,464 |
| Katherine LauderdaleChief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | $546,975 | $85,562 | $452,125 | $94,850 | $0 | $67,350 | $18,212 | $632,537 |
| Rhonda HoltChief Technology Officer | $536,431 | $86,057 | $438,993 | $94,525 | $2,913 | $67,850 | $18,207 | $622,488 |
These figures come from Public Broadcasting Service's Form 990 returns, as the IRS publishes them. The methodology page explains how they're chosen. To report an error, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
How Public Broadcasting Service compares
Ranked 18th of 45 major nonprofits by CEO pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 17th, Harvard University, $1,642,838
- Next in this ranking: 19th, National Geographic Society, $1,571,576
Closest in revenue among organizations in the same revenue band:
Scripps Research$1,859,240 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
UVA Physicians Group$2,317,533 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers$1,149,504 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Compass Health Network$2,136,339 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
New Venture Fund$438,683 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Common questions
Paula A Kerger (President & CEO) was paid $1,602,897 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $1,471,435 from Public Broadcasting Service and $131,462 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The CEO, Paula A Kerger, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $1,602,897.
This is PBS national. Member stations are separate organizations with their own leaders.
Public Broadcasting Service paid its CEO, Paula A Kerger, $1,602,897 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $319,766 (24.9%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2022, when the CEO was Paula A Kerger, paid $1,143,633. By fiscal year end: June 2022, $1,143,633 (Paula A Kerger); June 2023, $1,168,661; June 2024, $1,283,131; June 2025, $1,602,897.
Public Broadcasting Service's return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports total expenses of $584,483,243 and total revenue of $696,585,777 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so revenue exceeded expenses by $112,102,534. Expenses were $550,651,752 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, so they rose 6.1%. The CEO's pay of $1,602,897 equals 0.27% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns PBS filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on May 8, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.