BOB CHITESTER
Executive Producer

Bob Chitester has more than forty years experience in television management, program development and production. He is the founder, President and CEO of Free To Choose Media, izzit.org (formerly In the Classroom Media) and The Idea Channel; operating divisions of the Palmer R. Chitester Fund, a 501-c-3 public foundation. He founded and is CEO of Chitester Creative Associates, a private television production company.

Chitester conceived and led the development of Free To Choose, Milton Friedman’s award winning PBS television series and the best selling book derived from the series. With Rose Friedman, Chitester is a partner of Free To Choose Enterprise, and manages licensing and sales of Free To Choose.

Creatively, Bob also serves as Executive Producer of programs and series for Free To Choose Media, most recently for the PBS special; The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman, and The Ultimate Resource, featured on HDNet and to be scheduled on PBS stations throughout the 07-08 season. In development under his direction are TV series and videos featuring Secretary of State George Shultz, Peruvian economist Hernando DeSoto, Swedish author Johan Norberg and TV star Scott Bakula.

Chitester holds a B.A. and M.A. degree from the University of Michigan, and received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Allegheny College. He pursues physical fitness (running, swimming, biking) with gusto, indulges in wood and clay sculpture, cuts several cord of fire wood each year, and spends considerable time in airplanes. He and Carol have 4 children and 8 grandchildren, one of whom they are raising.

TOM SKINNER
Executive Producer

Tom Skinner is Executive Producer of all Free To Choose Media productions.  He also served as Developer and Co-Writer of The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman.

Tom is an award-winning television and film Executive with over 30 years of experience in public and commercial television. He is an experienced innovator and administrator with a solid academic background and extensive national production credentials.

From 1970 through 1993 Tom Skinner served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of QED Communications in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in 1993 he joined Resolution Productions in Burlington Vermont where he created several series for TBS, A&E and Discovery including Pirate Tales, Floating Palaces, California and the Dream Seekers, The Story of Money, Battleship, and The Secret World of Air Freight.

Tom taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and at San Diego State University. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including four national “Emmy” awards, three Peabody Awards, A Dupont/Columbia Award and was Director of the Academy Award winning film Journey Into Self.

Tom holds a BA in Speech and Education from the State University of New York Fredonia, and a MA and Ph.D. in Communications and Theatre from the University of Michigan. He and his wife Beth Burroughs Skinner have three children and six grandchildren.

KATHERINE ANDERSON
Producer, Writer

Kathy Anderson is the Producer/Writer for The Ultimate Resource.  She was also the Producer/Writer of The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman, which aired on PBS. Also for PBS, Kathy was a Producer for Marriage, Just a Piece of Paper? Kathy holds a Masters degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and was a William Benton Fellow at the University of Chicago. For nearly 15 years, Kathy was Futures Editor for ABC News and Planning Editor for ABC-7 News in Chicago.  For ABC, she developed stories for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “Nightline,” and “Good Morning America.”