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Penny Hawkins, Kristina Hare Lyons, Sunita Viswanath Join PMC’s Board of Directors

Jun 15, 2020

As an organization working toward a sustainable planet with equal rights for all, PMC relies on leaders who envision a world that empowers all people and have the abilities to assess our united progress towards success. That is why we are thrilled to welcome Sunita Viswanath, Kristina Hare Lyons, and Penny Hawkins to our Board of Directors, effective spring 2020.

“I’m looking forward to working with Sunita, Kristina, and Penny, adding their perspectives and skillsets to those of our esteemed Board of Directors. They will undoubtedly help improve PMC and expand our impact,” says Bill Ryerson, PMC’s President and Founder.

Viswanath has a background working for human rights in the United States and abroad. She cofounded Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), a human rights advocacy group committed to the ideals of multi-religious pluralism in the U.S. and India; Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus, advocating worldwide for social justice principles at the heart of Hinduism; and Women for Afghan Women (WAW), dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of Afghan women and girls. In 2015, Viswanath was honored by President Barack Obama as a Champion of Change for her work in the intersections of faith and environmentalism.

Hare Lyons has a diverse history bridging humanitarianism and the entertainment industry, and brings educated insight into the positive impact of entertainment. She has previously worked with PBS’ FRONTLINE documentary series as an associate producer, Physicians for Human Rights on a landmark study on war-related sexual violence in Sierra Leone, and the Ministry of Health in Liberia on efforts to address tragically high rates of maternal mortality.

Hawkins has over 30 years of experience in evaluation. At PMC, we know the value of this expertise because it’s key if we are to assess the impact of our shows’ impact on beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes in each country where we air programs. She has served in evaluation leadership and management roles in government, philanthropy and NGOs and currently holds the roles of founder and CEO of Creative Evaluation Limited, an international development evaluation consultancy working with philanthropic, multi-lateral and private sector organizations to develop relevant and effective measurement and learning systems for impact management.

With their combined decades of experience, Viswanath, Hare Lyons, and Hawkins have the expertise and passion needed to help make PMC’s vision a reality.