Mission & Vision

Community Representation Statement

In 2021, TPT undertook a strategic planning process under the direction of President and CEO Sylvia Strobel. TPT’s leadership, Board of Trustees, Community Advisory Council, and diverse stakeholders engaged in a collaborative process to develop a strategic plan grounded in inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.

Additionally, this process included reviewing and revising our vision; developing guiding principles that promote community connection and engagement, and developing a commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA). Better serving and reflecting our diverse communities within and beyond Minnesota is at the core of this work and our mission.

Our Vision

We seek to connect, engage, inform, and reflect our audiences through trusted programming that is accessible to all.

Our Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA)

Twin Cities PBS (TPT) is committed to advancing inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) across all levels of our organization. To do this, we are working to increase our representational diversity, create welcoming and inclusive environments for our staff and community members, ensure our content and programming is accessible, and include the voices and experiences of Black communities, Indigenous communities, communities of color, LGBTQIA+ communities, disabled communities, and other historically marginalized groups in all that we do. We are committed to allocating the time, resources, and effort necessary to create a more equitable future for our organization.

Our Guiding Principles

Our guiding principles serve as the foundation of our work, and inform how we operate, create content, deliver programming, engage our audiences, and grow and evolve to reflect the diversity of the region.

• Mutual Trust and Respect: Public media is often viewed as one of the most trusted institutions in the country, and we are working to strengthen relationships inside and outside of our organization by honoring and valuing the perspectives, experiences, and knowledge of our staff and community members.
• Open Communication: Communication is at the heart of everything we do. Communicating openly, honestly, and frequently helps us stay connected, and encourages transparency and the exchange of perspectives and ideas. We strive to create spaces where everyone feels seen, valued, and heard.
• Learning Through Feedback: Our platforms support learning across all stages of life, and we believe that to learn, grow, and evolve as an organization we must seek out and listen to feedback from diverse stakeholders. Communicating openly and encouraging feedback also helps us stay accountable to our communities.
• Collaborative Engagement: We aim to work with and in community through collaborative engagement practices that center community experiences and perspectives. We cannot assume that we know what is best or right for communities, instead, we work to create mutually beneficial collaborations built on trust, respect, open communication, and feedback.
• Responsive Leadership: To live up to and enact these guiding principles, our leaders must be culturally and emotionally responsive by practicing self-awareness, empathy, and humility, and by creating welcoming, inclusive, and equitable environments for staff and community members.
• Redefining Risk: Embracing uncertainty is difficult and it can also lead to creativity and innovation. We want to try new things, encourage strategic risk-taking, and create environments that foster joy and excitement about the possibilities of what we can do together.

TPT’s Strategic Plan

Goals

• Create welcoming inclusive environments
• Increase representational diversity
• Accelerate operational excellence
• Grow revenue for strategic priorities
• Engage audiences with valued, trusted, accessible and personalized programming
• Advance a data-first culture

Strategies

• Establish and activate a shared framework of enterprise excellence
• Leverage content, events, and collaborative community engagement practices to address systemic inequities and support social change
• Strengthen investment in people to foster a culture of inclusion and learning
• Increase investment in technology to expand exploration, relevancy, effectiveness, and accessibility across platforms
• Collect, analyze, and use data to inform decision-making, grow audiences and revenue, and improve user experience