In a recent interview with David Nevins, president and CEO of Nevins & Associates, Steven Schupak, the newly appointed president and CEO of Maryland Public Television (MPT), discussed his career path, MPT's accomplishments, and the evolving role of public media. Schupak became the sixth president in MPT's more than 55-year history in July 2025. MPT, a $42 million noncommercial educational media operation headquartered in Owings Mills, is a state licensee member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Schupak joined MPT's executive team in 2003 after two decades in television and media. During his oversight of content creation, MPT earned numerous TV industry awards, including honors for Chesapeake Bay Week®, an annual programming initiative he created in 2005; recognition for national productions such as 2014's Star Spangled Spectacular: The Bicentennial of our National Anthem; and a major honor for the 2018 documentary Breaking Heroin's Grip: Road to Recovery. After becoming the network's chief operating officer in 2014, he was named station manager in 2021, recognizing his expanded responsibilities in planning, content, operations, and financial oversight, as well as his leadership in growing MPT's position as a digital content provider and creating MPT's Maryland State Ad Agency division.
Before joining MPT, Schupak was vice president at Henninger Media Services, running the firm's production and distribution group and supplying cable networks and international markets with award-winning programming. He also worked at Eon Corporation (formerly TV Answer), a pioneering interactive TV firm, and at COMSAT Video Enterprises, developing and producing content for subscription and pay-per-view video services. Earlier, he was events director at the National Cable Television Association. He launched his TV career at the ABC Television Network, initially as a production manager for projects ranging from World News Tonight and Monday Night Baseball to the men's U.S. Open and The America's Cup Race. He later served as production manager for the 1986 Liberty Weekend Statue of Liberty Celebration.
Schupak is an alumnus of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in film and television. He also holds a master's degree in marketing from the Graduate School of Management & Technology at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) and was honored with its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2019. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter inducted him into its prestigious Silver Circle in 2020, and in 2023 he received the Maryland International Film Festival's Mendez Award. In 2024, he was selected as an “Influential Marylander” by The Daily Record.
Schupak serves on the board of directors of the National Educational Telecommunications Association and is vice chair of the board of the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California. He is also a 2019 graduate of Leadership Maryland. He and his wife Ellen reside in Montgomery County.
