Emerson Appoints Two New Overseers

The Emerson College Board of Trustees has appointed two new members to the College’s Board of Overseers. Catherine Peterson and John Wentworth ’81, who began their three-year terms on July 1, 2015, join 18 other members who serve as advisors to Emerson President Lee Pelton, providing insight into today’s workplace and industry and assisting with special projects at the request of the administration.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Catherine and John to the Board of Overseers,” said Don Spetner, chairman of the Board of Overseers and senior corporate advisor for Weber Shandwick Worldwide. “Their diverse talents and professional networks make them valuable assets to the board. We are enormously grateful for their willingness to serve and their dedication to the College.”

Catherine Peterson, of ArtsBoston

Catherine Peterson is the executive director of ArtsBoston, a nonprofit arts service organization with a mission to support and grow the arts and cultural sector of Greater Boston. During her tenure, Peterson has grown ArtsBoston’s annual operating budget from just over $800,000 to more than $2 million. ArtsBoston is a two-time recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Commonwealth Award, which is the state’s highest honor for the arts, sciences, and humanities. The Boston Globe celebrated the ArtsBoston Audience Initiative as a “Game Changer” in its special innovation report in June 2014, and The Arts Factor as one of the “20 Best New Big Ideas” in its Best of 2014 issue.

Peterson’s marketing and audience development experience includes the management of a multi-million-dollar Wallace Foundation audience development program at the Worcester Art Museum; artistic administration for the Cleveland Orchestra; and the position of vice president at Columbia Artists Management, handling the careers of 25 internationally known opera singers, including Arleen Auger, Mignon Dunn, Robert Lloyd, Arthur Woodley, and Timothy Noble.

Peterson’s community and national commitments include serving on the Leadership Council for Boston Creates, the cultural planning process for the City of Boston, under the leadership of Mayor Martin J. Walsh; as chairman-elect for Chorus America, an advocacy, research, and leadership development organization that advances the choral music field; and as a board member for Friends of Copley Square and MASSCreative.

A Berkeley, California, native, Peterson graduated summa cum laude from Wellesley College.

John A. Wentworth is executive vice president of communications for CBS Television Distribution. As an industry veteran, Wentworth oversees the various corporate-level and consumer media relations efforts for Paramount Network Television; CBS Paramount Domestic Television; CBS Paramount International Distribution; King World Productions; and the current entity, CBS Television Distribution. These combined divisions produce and/or distribute primetime and daytime programming for network, cable, premium television, and first-run syndication, domestically and internationally. In addition, he oversees the communications efforts for CBS Consumer Products and CBS Home Entertainment. Wentworth currently oversees all publicity efforts for CTD’s 10 first-run syndicated shows: Dr. Phil, The Doctors, Rachael Ray, Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Inside Edition, Judge Judy, Hot Bench, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!; as well as off-network series such as the CSI franchise (CBS), The Good Wife (CBS), NCIS (CBS), Penny Dreadful (Showtime), Blue Bloods (CBS), and the Star Trek franchise.

Before the September 2006 merger of CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World to create CBS Television Distribution, Wentworth was executive vice president, communications, for CBS Paramount Television, a position he had held since April 2005. The previous four years, he was executive vice president of media relations and marketing for what was the Paramount Television Group.

From 1993 to 1999, Wentworth served as senior vice president, then executive vice president, media relations and marketing, for the Paramount Television Group, reporting to the

John Wentworth, of CBS Television Distribution

chairman of the Group. Prior to that he was vice president, advertising, publicity, and promotion for Paramount Network Television, during which time he oversaw the ongoing publicity for such long-running hit series as Frasier, Cheers, Family Ties, Star Trek: The Next Generation, MacGyver, and The Arsenio Hall Show. Wentworth first joined Paramount in 1983 as manager of advertising, publicity, and promotion for Paramount Domestic Television.

Wentworth graduated in 1981 from Emerson College with a degree in Mass Communications.