Richard Bodorff named Chair of Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission

Edward H. Kaplan, since 2007 the chair of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, will retire from that post effective June 30, 2025.  Governor Wes Moore has appointed Richard J. Bodorff, current vice chair of the commission, to succeed Mr. Kaplan as chair.  The commission is the governance board for Maryland Public Television.

Richard Bodorff

Kaplan, a Potomac, Maryland, resident, was first named to the commission in 1996.  The real estate developer and entrepreneur steered the commission through some of MPT’s most tumultuous times including the 2009 change from analog to digital broadcasting; the 2017 introduction of four distinct channels emanating from the network’s Owings Mills headquarters; the 2016 launch of MPT Passport video streaming; and the periodic challenges to federal funding for public television.

Together with his wife, Irene, Edward Kaplan became the single-largest individual donor to MPT.  The 8,500-square-foot Irene and Edward H. Kaplan Production Studio was named for the couple in 2019.

MPT’s next commission chair, Richard Bodorff – the ninth in commission history – was appointed to the commission in 2020.  A year earlier, he was elected as the chair of the MPT Foundation, Inc., the 501 (c)(3) fundraising arm of MPT.  A communications law practitioner in Washington, D.C., he has been associated with the law firm Wiley Rein, LLP, for more than 35 years, where he has served as counsel to broadcasters on matters pertaining to the Federal Communications Commission.

The Easton, Maryland, resident is a current or former board member for a number of national and local nonprofit and industry organizations, ranging from the New York City-based Broadcasters Foundation of America to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and the advocacy organization America’s Public Television Stations, based in Washington, D.C.  He is a graduate of Denison University and the Vanderbilt University School of Law.  Richard and his wife, Ellen, are also major donors to Maryland Public Television.

Commenting on the retirement of Chair Kaplan, Bodorff, chair-elect, said, “Eddie Kaplan’s 18-year tenure at the head of our commission is the longest and most distinguished service by any chair since this governing body was established in 1966.  His service spanned a remarkable period of growth for MPT, and his calm hand at the helm certainly contributed to the success of the network over nearly two decades.”

The commission chair change coincides with the June 30, 2025, retirement of Maryland Public Television President and CEO Larry D. Unger.  He will be succeeded by Steven J. Schupak, MPT’s current executive vice president and station manager, who was selected after a national search earlier this year.

Addressing the change in Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission leadership, Unger noted, “Maryland Public Television is fortunate indeed to have had the management expertise and insights of Eddie Kaplan during his remarkable 29 years of commission service, and I’m delighted that Dick Bodorff will take over the reins to keep our mission in the forefront and our service ethic strong.  I am deeply grateful for the legacy of Eddie and the vision of Dick.  The best years of MPT are, as they say, yet to come!”