Born and bred in Boston, Frank Avruch has had an ongoing love affair with the city. A
favorite of television viewers for over fifty years, and one of the Boston/New England
chapter’s first Silver Circle inductees, Frank is “Mr. First Nighter” at Boston’s movie and
theatre openings as well as various cultural and community events. From 1958 to 1970, before cable TV came along, Frank became television’s first nationally-syndicated Bozo The Clown. The show’s tremendous success resulted in national syndication. Under the auspices of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Frank traveled the globe for UNICEF. His performances as Bozo the Clown at UNICEF projects in Asia and South America resulted in a series of documentary films viewed throughout the world. As Boston’s WCVBTV “Man About Town” and “Goodwill Ambassador,” Frank Avruch has represented the station at cultural and community events. He has hosted the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s “Salute to Symphony,” and a number of successfully produced series such as “Sunday Open House,” “The Good Morning Show,” and “Sunday Live!” But most viewers recognize him as the host of the eighteen-year TV classic film series “The Great Entertainment.” His work with many of the non-profit agencies has been recognized with numerous awards, including a United Nations award for his work with children, two Emmy awards, and “Man of the Year” citing his tireless work for charities of all kinds. Frank and his wife Betty have two sons, Matthew and Steven. When he is not busy working on his Web site www.bostonman.com, Frank and his wife travel frequently, and especially enjoy their West Coast visits with their two grandchildren, Robert and Max.
Betty-Jo Cugini has nearly thirty distinguished years in the media and broadcasting business. Currently a communications professor at Emerson College and a marketing
professional in the new media division at the University of Rhode Island, Betty-Jo brings unparalleled experience and expertise to academia. Prior to teaching, she worked at WJAR-TV in Providence for more than twenty years being promoted over the years to her most recent post of Vice President and News Director of NBC10 News. Under her
leadership, NBC10 News was awarded a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall
Excellence and WJAR-TV was the top-rated station in the Providence market. Before
WJAR-TV, Betty-Jo was a news producer at ABC6 (WLNE-TV) in Providence where
she was part of a team that won an Associated Press award for outstanding coverage
of Hurricane Gloria. Betty-Jo was honored as one of The 40 Most Admired Women in
Rhode Island for her long-time, dedicated work for Big Sisters of Rhode Island. She
has volunteered her time and expertise for countless non-profits serving on committees and on boards of directors at organization like Adoption Rhode Island and Girl Scouts of Rhode Island. A graduate of Dean College, Betty-Jo is a former member of Board of
Governors of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Boston/
New England Chapter.
Keith Kountz has been a fixture at New Haven’s WTNH-TV on News 8 for more than two decades. He currently anchors News 8 at 5PM, 5:30PM, and 10PM. Keith began his career at WTNH as a general assignment reporter in 1987. He has served as morning and weekend anchor during his tenure at News Channel 8. He left WTNH in 1998 to work as an anchor in Jacksonville, Florida, but returned to News 8 two years later. Prior to coming to Connecticut, Keith worked as a reporter and anchor at television stations in South Carolina, Georgia and New York. Keith and his wife Dawn are the proud parents of two teenage daughters. Keith has been actively involved in a number of community service organizations in the New Haven area. He has received nearly 100 professional and community service awards, and he is frequently the featured speaker at public, private and parochial schools, as well as colleges.
Award winning videographer Mark Langevin began his career in television in 1975. For
fifteen years, he was employed as a news photographer working at both the ABC and
NBC affiliates in Springfield, MA. There he won numerous awards from the Associated
Press and United Press International for field coverage ranging from disasters to
presidents. In 1993, he joined the staff of PBS affiliate WGBY-TV in Springfield, MA
where he is currently lead videographer and coordinator of the station’s high-definition
video equipment. His experiences working in documentary television have allowed him
to hone his creative skills as a videographer, and receive greater recognition for his work
including a New England Emmy Nomination for Defying Gravity, A Historic Achievement
in Glass featuring artist Josh Simpson, and recently, a Bronze Telly award for his work
on a three-part documentary, Currier & Ives, Perspectives on America. Mark did all the
videography for Julie Akeret’s latest film, Sankofa!
Ron Sanders has been a New England-based reporter for more than twenty-five years.
Sanders joined WBZ-TV in 1998 after reporting and anchoring for WHDH-TV since 1979.
Sanders also anchored and reported for WJBK-TV in Detroit, where he was co-host
of “PM Magazine,” and for WKHM-AM and FM in Jackson, Michigan. Throughout his
broadcast career, Sanders has been honored with several awards including four Emmy’s
for breaking news coverage, news events and programming; The Dennis Kauff Memorial
Excellence in Reporting Award; the first place news story from the Massachusetts
Broadcasters Association and Massachusetts Associated Press Broadcasters, and
several honors from the Detroit Press Club and Michigan Broadcasters. Born in Illinois,
raised there and in Michigan, Sanders attended Wayne State University and Harvard
University Extension School. He has completed the Boston Marathon five times and once co-wrote a song for David Ruffin, the late lead singer of The Temptations. Sanders
resides in Massachusetts with his wife and son. 
Brigid Sullivan is Vice President for Children’s Media and Educational Programming at
Boston’s PBS station WGBH-TV. Brigid joined WGBH in 1978 and was appointed Vice
President in 1980. Under her leadership, WGBH has won every major award for children’s
television, educational programming, and new-media content. WGBH is the single largest
source of children’s programs seen nationally on PBS, and Brigid is responsible for the
creation of such award-winning productions as Curious George, Arthur, Fetch! with Ruff
Ruffman, Martha Speaks, Between the Lions, Design Squad, Postcards from Buster,
Peep and the Big Wide World, and Zoom. She has overseen the production of the most
popular telecourses of all time (French in Action, Destinos, Misunderstood Minds) and served as executive producer of Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? (bringing author
Michael Sandel’s hugely popular Harvard University course to public television and the
Web) and Poetry Everywhere with Garrison Keillor (an innovative effort to bring poetry
to a wider audience, both online and on TV). She also initiated Teachers’ Domain, a
free online digital library of media resources, correlated to state and national standards,
that’s used in 78% of US K-12 schools and in 192 countries. Formerly also charged with
overseeing WGBH’s new-media and media access activities, Brigid launched WGBH’s efforts in broadband and interactive media (including iPhone and iPad apps and creative
partnerships with Apple, Microsoft, and others) and led WGBH to become the largest
supplier of content to pbs.org, one of the most popular dot-orgs in the world. Sullivan
dramatically expanded WGBH’s commitment to ensuring that the 36 million Americans
with hearing or vision impairments have access to popular media on public and
commercial television, on the Web, in movie theaters, and more. Brigid holds an MBA
from Harvard University and a BA from Thomas More College of Fordham University.