BOB CHITESTER
Executive Producer

Bob Chitester is founder and president of Free To Choose Network and its production and educational initiatives “Free To Choose Media” and “izzit.org.”  With more than 40 years of experience creating programs and series for public television and as president of the Erie public television station WQLN, Bob Chitester continues to be creatively involved in the creation of programs and series for Free To Choose Media and izzit.org. 

In partnership with his colleague Tom Skinner (senior executive producer at Free To Choose Media) Bob has served as executive producer for: “The Power of Choice: the Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman,” (on PBS) “The Ultimate Resource,” (American Public Television) “The Power of the Poor” (PBS) and “Globalization at the Crossroads” with Hernando de Soto, and “Turmoil and Triumph: The George Shultz Years, a three-part documentary series for PBS.

In 1980 Bob Chitester brought Milton Friedman to public television, and was responsible as executive producer for Friedman’s landmark PBS series “Free To Choose” and the best-selling book that emanated from the series.   He is currently in production with a new documentary program celebrating the 30th anniversary of the creation of “Free To Choose,” hosted by Swedish author Johan Norberg.

Bob Chitester holds BA and MA degrees from The University of Michigan and has received an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Allegheny College.

On the personal level he pursues physical fitness, (running, swimming and biking), indulges in wood and clay sculpture, reads poetry publicly, is a hunter and cuts several cord of fire wood each year, when he is not flying about in airplanes as part of his responsibilities at Free To Choose Network.  Bob and his wife, Carol, have 4 children and 8 grandchildren, one of whom they are raising in their home.

TOM SKINNER
Executive Producer

Tom Skinner is Executive Producer of all Free To Choose Media productions.  He also served as Developer and Co-Writer of The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman.

Tom is an award-winning television and film Executive with over 30 years of experience in public and commercial television. He is an experienced innovator and administrator with a solid academic background and extensive national production credentials.

From 1970 through 1993 Tom Skinner served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of QED Communications in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in 1993 he joined Resolution Productions in Burlington Vermont where he created several series for TBS, A&E and Discovery including Pirate Tales, Floating Palaces, California and the Dream Seekers, The Story of Money, Battleship, and The Secret World of Air Freight.

Tom taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and at San Diego State University. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including four national “Emmy” awards, three Peabody Awards, A Dupont/Columbia Award and was Director of the Academy Award winning film Journey Into Self.

Tom holds a BA in Speech and Education from the State University of New York Fredonia, and a MA and Ph.D. in Communications and Theatre from the University of Michigan. He and his wife Beth Burroughs Skinner have three children and six grandchildren.

DAVID deVRIES
Producer

David deVries has produced, directed, written and often photographed television documentaries in twenty-six countries for American and international networks. He has created films on subjects from wildlife and the environment to science and the arts. In recent years his work has focused on historical subjects. Credits include: “T.R.: An American Lion”- The History Channel, “Egypt: Beyond the Pyramids,” “The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai.”­ One of David’s most recent projects is “Fields of Freedom,” a wide screen film which he wrote and directed for a new visitor center at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The thirty-minute, pay-per-view drama recreates Pickett’s Charge, the heroic but suicidal action on the third day of this critical battle. . David has developed and created work for the award winning nature series, “Survival” for Britain’s Anglia Television and “The World About Us” for the BBC. In addition, he has created documentary programming for CBC, NBC, A & E, The Discovery Channel and Time-Life among others. His dramatic credits include writing and directing “Home At Last,” a period drama starring Adrian Brody for PBS. He’s directed episodes for Laurel Entertainment’s syndicated series “Tales From the Dark Side” and the Fox Network series “Class of ’96.” He has developed numerous dramatic projects as a producer/director for Disney Pictures and Disney Television. David studied acting and directing with Uta Hagen at the Bergoff Studio in NYC. He lives on a farm in upstate New York.