PBS Reno Announces 2026 Spotlight Award Winners
RENO, NV (SEP 21, 2026) – PBS Reno is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Spotlight Awards Gala, which took place Friday, September 18 in the Reno Ballroom in downtown Reno:
Extraordinary Student
Juliette Leong, Artist and Kids Teach U Founder and Philanthropist
Extraordinary Educator
Lucy Dugan, Traner Middle School Principal
Extraordinary Individual
Dr. Carina Black, Northern Nevada International Center Founder & Executive Director
Extraordinary Business
Digiprint
Extraordinary Community Group
Girls on the Run Sierras
Extraordinary Philanthropists
Nick and Debbie Rossi
“We are so grateful to PBS Reno for this recognition and for such a wonderful evening,” said Nick and Debbie Rossi. “The Spotlight Awards Gala was a great reminder of just how generous and community-minded northern Nevada is. To be surrounded by so many people who care deeply about helping others made the evening especially meaningful for us.”
“We are honored to present our annual Spotlight Awards to so many deserving individuals and organizations whose work has been voted on by our community,” said Kurt Mische, PBS Reno President and CEO. “Over 600 of our friends and supporters attended this event and helped us raise funding to support the vitally important work that PBS Reno does on and off the air. It is so important for us to recognize and thank community leaders like Nick and Debbie Rossi, who have set such a positive example of giving for all of us. This is one of the many reasons our community is such a positive place to live and work.”
About PBS Reno
In fiscal year 2024-2025, PBS Reno reached 592,189 monthly viewers in northern and central Nevada and northeastern California across several platforms including three broadcast channels (PBS Reno 5.1, Reno Create 5.2, and PBS KIDS on PBS Reno 5.3), a YouTube channel, YouTube TV, online, livestreams, and digital platforms. PBS Reno provides PBS national programming and award-earning, locally-produced content, with many local segments posted weekly to PBS Reno’s YouTube Channel. PBSReno.org provides engaging interactive content, including the video portal at watch.PBSReno.org that streams all locally-produced content and most PBS national content. PBS Reno serves students, teachers, parents and caregivers through immersive educational services including Curiosity Classroom Workshops that bring classroom lessons to life with standards-based lessons and activities. Through the support of local corporations and foundations, as well as thousands of individual members, PBS Reno has been delivering public television and educational services to the communities it serves since September 29, 1983.
Contact us:
Membership Questions: membership@pbsreno.org
Programming Hotline: programming@pbsreno.org
Phone: 775.600.0555
Address: 1670 N. Virginia St. • Reno NV 89503