Pat Mitchell

Raised in a small town in Georgia with no money or connections, Pat Mitchell challenged expectations to become one of media’s most admired leaders—the first woman president of PBS and CNN productions, an award-winning film and TV producer, and the co-founder and curator of TEDWomen.

In Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World, Mitchell charts her path to power, from an early childhood on a cotton farm to the frontlines of social, political, and cultural change, where she navigated the halls of power in Washington, DC and Hollywood, traveled to war zones with Eve Ensler and Glenn Close, pressed Fidel Castro into making historic admissions about the Cold War, and formed powerful alliances with fellow media leaders like Ted Turner and Robert Redford.

Mitchell has become a dangerous woman, dangerous because she is willing to take risks to challenge the status quo. Here, she issues an inspiring call to action for all of us to be braver, bolder, and more prepared to dismantle the barriers to full equality in our own lives, and to embrace the risks necessary to create a more just and sustainable world.

Pat Mitchell was the first woman president of PBS, CNN Productions, and The Paley Center for Media, as well as an award-winning producer of documentaries and TV series. She is the co-founder and curator of TEDWomen and the Connected Women Leaders Initiative; chair of Sundance Institute and Co-Chair of The Women’s Media Center; trustee of the Skoll Foundation; and advisor to Participant Media. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Scott Seydel. Together, they have six children and 13 grandchildren.