21 Facts About Judith McHale

Judith A McHale was born on 1947 and is a former under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.

Judith McHale is the former president and chief executive officer of Discovery Communications.

For two decades, Judith McHale helped build Discovery Communications, the parent company of the Discovery Channel cable channel, into a global media enterprise with 1.4 billion subscribers in 170 countries.

The daughter of a US Foreign Service officer, Judith McHale was born in New York City and grew up in Britain and apartheid-era South Africa.

Judith McHale is married to Michael O'Halloran and has two sons, Brian and Mark.

Judith McHale's uncle was the journalist William McHale, Rome Bureau Chief for Time in the 1960s.

Judith McHale died along with Enrico Mattei, a leader of Italian oil company ENI, in a plane crash on October 27,1962, later classified as a sabotage.

Judith McHale graduated from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and Fordham University School of Law in New York.

Judith McHale has received honorary degrees from the University of Maryland, American University, the University of Miami and Colby College.

In 1987, Judith McHale became general counsel at Discovery Communications, then a small company with a single US cable channel.

Judith McHale went on to serve as chief operating officer, chief executive officer, and president, helping to grow Discovery into a large media company, with more than 100 channels available in 35 languages and distributed to more 1 billion subscribers in over 170 countries.

Judith McHale helped forge strategic partnerships, including an alliance in 1998 with the BBC that enabled a marriage of high-quality content and global distribution strength.

Judith McHale spearheaded numerous corporate acquisitions, including The Learning Channel in 1991 and the Travel Channel in 1997.

Discovery was consistently named one of the best places to work in various rankings, and, in 2004, Judith McHale was honored by Working Mother magazine as a "National Family Champion" for her leadership.

At Discovery, Judith McHale launched education and development initiatives in the United States and around the world, including the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, which provides free educational programming and technological support to more than a half million students at 200 schools and community centers throughout rural Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

In 2006, after nearly 20 years at Discovery, Judith McHale moved to Global Environment Fund, a private equity firm based in Chevy Chase, MD.

Judith McHale currently serves on the boards of directors of SeaWorld Entertainment, Ralph Lauren Corporation Hilton Worldwide, Inc and Yellow Media Limited.

In 1998, Judith McHale was appointed by Governor Parris Glendening to a four-year term as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education.

In September, 2013 Judith McHale was appointed by Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, as chair of the President's Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking.

Judith McHale has provided leadership to a range of organizations engaged in global affairs and development.

Judith McHale served on the boards of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, Africare, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, and Vital Voices.