Deborah L. Acklin is president and CEO of WQED Multimedia, the nation's first community-owned public-media company, known as “Mister Rogers' station.” Acklin has served in multiple executive roles within the public-television industry and commercial broadcasting. At WQED, she has managed the operations, strategies and fundraising for four television channels, three radio signals, an interactive Web-based learning channel and an education department. Her work has been honored with many awards, including a national Emmy, as well as two consecutive Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards for station excellence. Acklin also helped launch the first public-television channel in Bermuda (CTV). Acklin holds a bachelor of arts degree from Duquesne University and completed the advanced-management program at Harvard Business School.

The star who would play me in the movie version of my life:

Sigourney Weaver

Childhood hero:

Jane Goodall

Pick one:

A. Go-Gos

B. Goo Goo Dolls

C. Lady Gaga

D. Yo Gabba Gabba

The Go-Gos! An all-female band with a great drummer and good lyrics. They were underrated.

The superpower I wish I had in real life:

I wish I could fly. Or had the ability to mind-meld. Thank you, Mister Spock!

I can't live without my iPod, cellphone, DVR or laptop:

If I had to, I could live without all of them. I like to talk to people face to face, watch TV live and use paper.

My favorite reality show:

Trying to balance WQED's annual budget — it has drama, tears, laughter, insanity and some wild characters!

Favorite brunch food:

Smoked salmon

Favorite guilty pleasure:

All of my pleasures are guilty, and all of the guilt is pleasurable! I'm Roman Catholic, after all.

Favorite lunchtime spot:

My desk

Something I would do over if I could:

High school — I wish I had read more of the classics.

App I wish I could invent:

The “Please Bring Me Glass of Red Wine!” app

I'm deathly afraid of:

Running out of red wine — see above. I'm Italian, after all.

My favorite Pittsburgh pizza:

Mineo's in Squirrel Hill

TV marathon I could watch all day:

“The Sopranos” — the first few seasons have some amazing directing and surreal flashbacks and dream sequences

My favorite thing about Pittsburgh:

It's the right size for me — and the people are generous and friendly.

Pick one:

A. Pirates

B. Penguins

C. Steelers

D. Other

E. I hate sports

Go Stillers! I miss Myron Cope!

My favorite Pittsburgh athlete:

Troy Polamalu — I swear he can fly!

Top thing on my “bucket list” to do before I'm gone:

Travel to more than 100 countries — 88 to go

In five years, I'd like to:

Attend the Pirates' fourth-straight World Series championship parade Downtown.

My favorite website:

wqed.org

Star I'd like to dance with on “Dancing With the Stars”:

Savion Glover — an amazing tap dancer. I'd be better at tap than at salsa or quickstep.

Celebrity crush:

Bo, the Obamas' dog

My quirkiest inherited trait:

Being hyper-aware of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes — thanks, Mom!

Exercise I hate most:

Planks

Best mistake I've ever made:

Adopting a few too many animals at one time: Horse, Great Dane, three cats and two goldfish! But I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

My favorite sandwich, plus fixings:

Caprese Panini with pesto — yum!

One word my mother would use to describe me:

Precocious

The oldest thing in my refrigerator:

The box of baking soda

When I was 10, I wanted to be:

A veterinarian

The most-famous person I ever became friends with:

Patti Burns, the closest thing to royalty that Pittsburgh ever had. I miss her to this day.

Three people I'd love to have dinner with:

All of my grandparents — they died before I was born ­— the Dalai Lama, Linda Ellerbee

If I was auditioning for “American Idol,” my song would be:

“Close To You” by the Carpenters

The first band I saw in concert:

Wild Cherry with the Average White Band at the Civic Arena in 1977

The best concert I've ever seen:

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's concert for Pope John Paul II in Vatican City

Favorite Pittsburgh-area landmark:

The exit of the Fort Pitt Tunnels when the city hits you in the face

Saturday mornings, you'll find me:

Walking the dogs in Frick Park and at the Strip

Best new gadget I've tried recently:

An editing app on the iPad — amazing what you can do for $12.99

The person I'm most often mistaken for:

Someone who likes to be called “Debbie.” I don't!

The worst advice I ever received:

Don't take accounting — you'll never need it.

In high school, I was:

Friends with the cool kids and friends with the nerds

My most-treasured fashion accessory:

My Duquesne University class ring — it was my dad's, circa 1948

What you'll always find in my glove compartment:

Keys to the kayak roof rack

My most-embarrassing junk food:

Chocolate-covered almonds from Costco — danger!

If I wasn't president and CEO of WQED Multimedia, I'd be:

Producing television for WQED

The last book I read:

Rick Steves' travel guide to Germany

Movie I could watch every time it appears on cable:

“The Quiet Man”

My most-memorable fashion mistake:

A few curly perms in the '80s

If I could live my life as someone else, it would be:

As a bodhisattva

My childhood nickname:

My dad called me “Little Bee.” That's what “Deborah” means in Hebrew.

Life would be better without:

Mosquitos

My first job:

Baby sitting, of course. Then working in a fast-food fish-and-seafood restaurant — stinky!

My worst job:

See above

My favorite cable channel:

All cable channels are awful and out to exploit audiences, but I couldn‘t live without “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central

If I could tour with any two bands, they would be:

Heart and The Pretenders

I never travel without my:

Eyes and heart open

People would be surprised to know that I:

Possess a freakishly accurate ability to identify rare animal species and dog breeds

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