South Carolina ETV and Public Radio names new president and CEO

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Adrienne Fairwell has been named the new President and CEO of South Carolina ETV and Public Radio (SCETV) and will begin leading the agency on Aug. 17.

Fairwell is returning to South Carolina from Arizona PBS, where she served as general manager since 2021. Arizona PBS, located in downtown Phoenix, is a member-supported community service of Arizona State University. During her time at Arizona PBS, Fairwell led the completion of a comprehensive market study and the development and implementation of a three-year strategic plan focused on growth, diversity and innovation. In addition, Fairwell restructured her executive team to better capitalize on record revenue and membership growth and oversaw a restart of the station’s local production activities.

Prior to leading Arizona PBS, Fairwell served as Assistant General Manager of SCETV and the Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Development. In her roles, she was responsible for SCETV’s brand management, promotional and advertising efforts, public relations, audience engagement, revenue activities, partnership development, multi-platform content generation, studio and field production, local and national programming, broadcast programming, traffic and government transparency work.

Fairwell has also been a leader in the areas of diversity and equity. She helped establish a new partnership between SCETV and Furman University’s Riley Institute to begin a series of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion classes to help train public media employees. She has also led the streamlining of the recruitment process to be more inclusive of women, people of color, people with disabilities and veterans.

Fairwell currently serves on the boards of three national public media organizations, including America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) and the Public Television Major Market Group (PTMMG). She is also a Riley Fellow, having completed the Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI), an award-winning program of Furman University’s Riley Institute.

In addition to her experience in public media, Fairwell led marketing and communications efforts for other various state agencies in South Carolina, including the South Carolina Department of Commerce, South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the South Carolina Department of Revenue.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in human resources development from Webster University.

Fairwell was chosen for the SCETV President and CEO position from a pool of candidates after an extensive interview process led by the ETV Commission.

Stephanie Cook, SCETV’s Deputy Director and Assistant General Manager, has been leading the agency as interim President and CEO after the announcement of Anthony Padgett’s departure in February.