Patrick Butler is president emeritus of America’s Public Television Stations, having served as president and CEO from 2011-2024.

He earlier served as senior vice president of The Washington Post Company and as Washington vice president of Times Mirror, the corporate parent of the Los Angeles Times and other media properties.

In government service, Butler was special assistant to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard H. Baker, Jr. and senior advisor to Baker during his tenure as White House chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan. Butler was also a speechwriter and the associate editor of the White House Editorial Office for President Gerald R. Ford.

Butler is the retired vice-chairman of the board of trustees of American University and of the National Archives Foundation. He is chairman emeritus of SOME (So Others Might Eat) and of the Maryland Public Television Foundation.

He is currently a member of the boards of the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, the Better Angels Society supporting the work of Ken Burns and others following in his tradition, WETA public television and radio in Washington, D.C., and the DC College Access Program.

Butler majored in political science at the University of Tennessee and earned his M.A. in communication from American University. He also holds a certificate in finance and accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.