The Independent Television Service (ITVS) has tapped Carrie Lozano as its president and CEO following the announcement of Sally Jo Fifer’s departure in January. The ITVS board selected Lozano after working with executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.
Leading the organization, Lozano will work to “protect independent artists’ voices, editorial control and copyright while elevating nonfiction storytelling as an essential strategy for public media to reach new and diverse audiences.” She will enter the role on August 7. The ITVS board worked with the executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to recruit its fourth President & CEO since the organization’s founding.
Lozano joins ITVS after most recently serving as director of documentary film and artist programs at the Sundance Institute. There, she and her team created programs to provide funding, creative labs, fellowships, and intensive artist support, and forged partnerships with Gucci, the Asian American Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Before Sundance, she designed and directed the International documentary Association’s (IDA) Enterprise documentary Fund, where she supported filmmakers with funding and journalistic resources on projects such as the ITVS-funded titles “Through the Night,” “One Child Nation,” and “Always in Season.” She also led IDA’s Pare Lorentz documentary Fund, which focuses on films about environmental justice and other social issues.
She has also previously worked with Al Jazeera America, the Bay Area Video Coalition’s BAVC MediaMaker Fellowship and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she is on the advisory board. Additionally, she is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the board of jurors of the Peabody Awards and the board of directors of ProPublica.
As a producer, Lozano has worked on the documentary “The Weather Underground” and the live cinema piece “Utopia In Four Movements,” and she directed the documentary short “Reporter Zero” and the documentary feature “The Ballad of Fred Hersch.”
“Carrie’s integrity as an investigative journalist, her leadership experience, and her fierce commitment to filmmakers and democracy will lift our field, partners and incredible staff for many years to come,” said ITVS board chair Garry Denny. “The board is thrilled to welcome her to our team and to public media.”
“ITVS is an empowering oasis for filmmakers who shift narratives and earn the public’s trust one authentic, impactful story at a time,” Lozano said. “I am in awe of their editorial care and artistry, and I cannot wait to collaborate with them, our partners, and our ITVS team. Connecting American audiences to powerful independent voices through PBS’ vast, accessible network is a dream come true.”
