HILMA PRATHER

Hilma Prather is a veteran leader of the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, the licensee of the 16-station statewide network.  She was appointed to the Authority by the Council on Postsecondary Education, the governing body for higher education.  Currently, serving as the Chair of the Authority, she has a comprehensive understanding of the network’s operations and serves on the Executive, Finance and Strategic Planning Committees.  She attended APTS Capitol Hill Day and the MGI Conference in 2008, and was the KET Volunteer Delegate to the MGI/CPB Capstone Conference for the Public Awareness Initiative in April 2007.  

A Maryland native, Ms. Prather’s career has focused on classroom education in Kentucky.  She received her B.A. from the University of Kentucky in 1972, her M.Ed. in 1976 from Eastern Kentucky University, and her Rank 1 in School Administration and Supervision in 1981.  She began her career as a sixth grade teacher, and retired as a principal in the Somerset Independent School System.  

Ms. Prather served for four years on the Kentucky Board of Education, two years as vice-chair, where she worked closely with Gene Wilhoit, who now serves as Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).  She is also a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, the premier education advocacy think tank.  In 1989, Ms. Prather was a guest on Firing Line with William Buckley.  

She was appointed by the Governor to the Advisory Board - Somerset Community College/University of Kentucky where she served for four years, two as vice-chair.  Ms. Prather knows the Kentucky congressional delegation, which includes a member of the Appropriations Committee, a ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, the Senate Minority Leader, and a member of the Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, Rep. John Yarmuth, who is sponsoring H.R. 6856, the Ready To Compete Act of 2008.

Much-sought after for service on the most prestigious boards in Kentucky, Ms. Prather’s devotion to public broadcasting has only increased over the years.

In addition to the myriad of boards and community service organizations on which Ms. Prather serves, she still finds time to spend with her husband and two children on their houseboat on Lake Cumberland.