Kris Vera-Phillips previously managed KPBS Evening Edition and KPBS Roundtable. As a Next Generation Leadership fellow, Kris worked with NPR, American Public Media and other organizations to launch the Public Media Village at the 2016 National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference. She also serves as a board member and external affairs liaison for the San Diego chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press Television-Radio Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. Before KPBS News, she produced news shows and news specials at CBS and NBC in San Francisco. She also produced news programs and digital content in Sacramento and Topeka, Kansas. She managed special coverage of live events including the final flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Beyond the newsroom, Kris taught American broadcast news classes at St. Petersburg State University in Russia. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Outside of the newsroom, her favorite production is all about her family: her husband, cocker spaniel and and the latest addition to her pack, Alexander.