Robert Pennybacker is a 4th generation Korean-American who grew up in Honolulu. An honors graduate from the USC School of Cinema, Robert has been working in Hawaii's television industry since 1981. He began his career as a producer-director at KGMB (later to become Promotion Manager for that station), and moved to KHON in 1994 as its Director of Marketing. Robert was responsible for the marketing of that station's switch from NBC to FOX in 1996 (one of the most successful affiliation switches in television history). In 2001 he left KHON to start his own production and marketing firm—Pennybacker Creative, LLC. Under that banner he has written approximately twelve television documentaries. He has also produced and directed award-winning marketing videos, commercials, and PSAs through that company . Robert signed on as PBS Hawaii's Vice President of Creative Services in September of 2007. He oversees the production and creative departments, the production of five weekly shows (including Hiki Nō), and all special projects. He is also the liaison between independent producers and the station. He was PBS Hawaii's Executive Producer for the ITVS/LINCS documentary "Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority", which aired on more than 50% of the PBS stations across the country. In 2008 he served on the ITVS/LINCS selection panel and 2010 the ITVS Open Call selection panel. Robert is Executive Producer of Hiki No: The Nation's First Statewide Student News Network.