Liz Cheng

General Manager

Liz Cheng is GBH’s General Manager for Television, overseeing Boston channels GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids, GBH Create, and Boston Kids & Family, as well as serving on the board of directors for New England Public Media TV, Radio and Digital in Springfield. Cheng also oversees the national nonfiction service WORLD Channel, which features four series that she co-created: America ReFramed, Local, USA, Doc World, and Stories from the Stage, including its eponymous podcast.

Before joining WGBH in 2011, Cheng served as Vice President and Director of Programming and Communications at WCVB-TV Channel 5, Boston’s ABC affiliate, and also oversaw programming for WMUR-TV in Manchester, NH. She co-launched and executive-produced many national programs, including 10 years of Pops Goes the Fourth! and Holiday Pops with the Boston Pops for simulcast on the A&E Network as well as original documentaries and specials for the History Channel.

Cheng is President of the Board of Trustees for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for The Partnership, a national nonprofit coaching program and network for executives of color. She is on the board of directors for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and serves on the Board of Ambassadors for the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. Cheng’s programs on WORLD have won many awards, including a National News & Documentary Emmy, Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, as well as many national awards honoring diversity. She has also been honored with a Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the National Race Amity Medal of Honor and the Neil Chin Community Service Award from the Asian Community Development Corporation. Cheng holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in English Language and Literature/Letters from Brown University.

Chris Hastings

Executive Producer and Editorial Manager

Chris Hasting’s passion for television started at age 10 when he produced Kids News, a daily news show at his elementary school outside Philadelphia. After college, he became a founding team member in the development and production of Black Entertainment Television’s award-winning BET Tonight. At WGBH, Chris has worked with children television’s program ZOOM and the WGBH Lab, an innovative incubator for up-and-coming filmmakers. Chris joined WORLD Channel in 2011, where he co-created the award-winning documentary series America ReFramed, Local, USA, and Doc World, and provided editorial oversight to the other original series on WORLD. Series in Chris’s portfolio has won many awards, including a Peabody Award,  a Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, and national news and documentary Emmy award. 

Chris is committed to developing a diverse pool of filmmakers and storytellers. He’s a regular collaborator with of Black Public Media, the Center for Asian American Media, Pacific Islanders in Communications, Latino Public Broadcast, Vision Maker Media, Firelight Media and National Association of Latino Independent Producers, and has served as content reader and reviewer on various open calls. In 2016, Chris became a Rockwood JustFilms Fellow and was awarded WGBH’s Margaret and Hans Rey Curious George in-house producer fellowship.

Eleanor Hong

Director of Audience Development

Eleanor Hong is WORLD Channel’s Director of Audience Development and Engagement. Eleanor’s digital media experience spans work across broadcast media and publisher sites such as ABC News, ESPN, and The Washington Post. She has been an assignment editor and producer in news, health, entertainment, business, sports and lifestyle topics for various blogs and publications. She has consulted and managed multimedia, video events and facilitated Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media development across news and non-profit organizations. Previously Senior Manager of Audience Development and Content Integration at ESPN and ABC News, she has utilized digital and social platforms for trending livestream events and content for web, mobile and online consumer engagement. She has also served as an adjunct professor for Interactive Media and Communications at Quinnipiac University. She has contributed work towards Edward R Murrow Broadcasting and White House Press Photographers Association awards, as well as Webby and Editor & Publishing awards. She has been supportive of advancing diversity in media through AAJA, KAJA, ONA and UNITY and Poynter journalism fellowships.

Ron Bachman

Senior Director of Programming

Ron Bachman oversees the programming for all of WGBH's television services, including WORLD Channel, WGBH 2 and WGBX 44. In over three decades at WGBH, Ron has programmed documentaries, mysteries and drama. As a great fan of dramas, one of Ron’s favorite jobs was his six-year stint writing Diana Rigg’s introductory copy on Mystery! Ron has extensive experience reviewing and curating documentaries, which, he believes, are at the core of the public television mission because they explore, in depth, issues that impact people’s lives.

Ron is a former president and board member of the Public Television Programmers Association, which awarded him an Outstanding Leadership Award in 2010. In 2013, American Public Television honored him with its annual “Most Valuable Player” award. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Penn State University.

Patricia Alvarado-Núñez

Executive Producer

Patricia Alvarado Núñez co-produces Stories from the Stage and the WGBH series Sing That Thing!, a choral competition that celebrates the diversity and joy of singing. Patricia has produced numerous award-winning documentaries, music specials, other programs and digital projects. Her work has been honored with many awards, including two Telly Awards, two CINE Golden Eagle Awards, ten New England Emmy® Awards and an Imagen Award.

A native of Panama City, Patricia started her television career at Panama’s public television network producing an environmental documentary series. After a media fellowship with Televisión Española in Madrid, Spain, Patricia immigrated to the United States and earned a Master of Art from Emerson College. She has traveled to over 35 countries and is an Ikebana artist and published photographer.

Allison Frasso

Senior Programming Coordinator

Allison is the Program Coordinator for WORLD Channel, where she handles all the operational details that help keep the channel on the air. Allison began her career in television as an intern at American Public Television, intending to put her writing skills to work doing public relations. After stumbling into the very technical world of scheduling, Allison discovered that she enjoys communicating with member stations and going behind the scenes to put together the all the puzzle pieces that go into creating a television schedule. Allison has been working at WORLD Channel since joining WGBH in 2008.

A native of Winthrop, MA, Allison enjoys watching WORLD documentaries, traveling, and vigorous exercise. Allison holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Emmanuel College.

Victoria Marsh

Outreach Manager

Victoria Marsh is WORLD Channel’s Outreach Manager. A passionate ambassador for WORLD, Victoria has been working for the channel since it launched in 2007. Before moving into her current position, she was the Senior Programming Coordinator for WGBH 2 and WORLD, and began her career at WGBH in the audience and member services department.

Victoria is active in the Boston theatre community as a teacher and director. She is on the Advisory Board of Company One Theatre and is their Board President Emerita. Victoria has also served on the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Washington College.

Hannah Paul

Producer and Editor

Since she joined WORLD Channel in 2014, Hannah’s in-house editing expertise and vision have helped to shape WORLD Channel’s content into the unique voice that it is today. In addition to producing and editing WORLD Channel’s short form content and digital videos, Hannah packages all of the original productions for broadcast and the web.

Growing up as an avid baseball fan, Hannah attended games with her family since infancy. After graduating from Brown University in 2008 with a degree in anthropology, Hannah found a natural alliance between her love of baseball and her study of human narratives. That alliance led Hannah to her first television job at Major League Baseball Productions in her native New York City. During her time at Major League Baseball Productions, Hannah fell in love with story telling through editing and filmmaking. She now brings this passion and dedication to WORLD Channel. In her free time, Hannah enjoys watching baseball, running, cooking, and hanging out with her dog, Festo.

Judith Vecchione

Senior Editorial Advisor

Judith Vecchione brings her decades of experience producing documentaries to WORLD Channel. She was series senior producer for the award-winning Eyes on the Prize and has worked as executive producer for many national PBS series including Americas, The Blues, and Medal Quest: American Athletes and the Paralympic Games; and for one-night specials, including Young & Restless in China, The Longoria Affair, and Ice Warriors: USA Sled Hockey. She has also supported emerging makers as executive director of PBS’s Producers Workshop and Next Generation Leadership initiatives.

Judith has won multiple awards, including a national Emmy® Award, Peabody Award, Davey Award, CINE Golden Eagle Award, Christopher Spirit Award, Savannah Film Festival “Best in Festival,” Imagen Award, and Chicago Film Festival award, among others. Judith holds a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics from Yale, where she was in the first class that accepted women students.

Sharon Wong

Digital Producer

Sharon’s love of movies, and of Chewbacca, was sparked with her first movie theatre experience - watching Star Wars V as a toddler. Initially interested in studying biology, Sharon discovered a love for TV production while taking a high school class. Sharon began her career at CNN in Atlanta as a video journalist, covering domestic and international news, education and sports. She returned to her native Boston where she joined New England Sports Network, working Boston Red Sox games, before starting a classic horror production company with friends. Joining WORLD in 2012 was a homecoming of another kind for Sharon, who interned for a NOVA series as a college student.

Since joining WORLD, Sharon has expanded the channel's digital presence by producing engaging content for social media, video platforms and online events. Sharon holds a Bachelor of Science in television, radio and film from Syracuse University and is an Associate of The Partnership, a leadership program for professionals of color.