By Andy Loigu

Jess Kasza, a former field hockey player for Phillipsburg who was nominated for the Warren Reporter’s Female Athlete of the Year award, has now added an Emmy Award to her honors and recognitions.

She was hired by PBS in 2017 and moved up the ranks to the job of being a senior director of programming and operations. Her Emmy Award, issued by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, was for outstanding short-form daytime nonfiction programming.

After working on videos for Coca Cola, in a profit-making corporate environment, she remembers that she didn’t know what it would be like to transition into a nonprofit organization. “I quickly found out that PBS is a place with heart, creativity, intellect and dogged determination,” she said on LinkedIn.

“The media landscape is changing and it is challenging to adapt, especially with limited funds,” she added. “Member stations across the country continue to persevere and provide excellent award-winning content and educational resources.” Also, she said she enjoys getting her picture taken with cute characters like Daniel Tiger at special events.

She went to college in the Lehigh Valley and earned degrees in media and communications and anthropology from Muhlenberg. Also, she is certified in adult first aid and CPR by the American Red Cross.

*** Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.