NPR’s top fundraiser comes from YMCA, Hanley moves to Birmingham and Kendall to Miami, Moe focuses on Wits

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NPR has hired Monique Hanson, from YMCA of the USA, as its chief development officer.

Monique HansonHanson joined the YMCA in 2004 and  served as senior v.p. and chief development officer for the $5 billion organization. In her position at NPR, Hanson will oversee NPR’s fundraising programs and work with stations and the trustees of the NPR Foundation Inc., a private nonprofit.

“Monique has the experience needed to take NPR to new heights in fundraising,” said NPR President Gary Knell in a press release. “She brings vision and a collaborative spirit that will help us forge innovative partnerships with NPR member stations across the country. I’m excited that we found a leader that embraces our potential to strengthen our nation’s democracy and enrich people’s day to day lives.”

The hire is Knell’s first from outside the organization since starting as president last December.

Before joining the YMCA, Hanson was senior director of development for the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago from 2001 to 2004, where she raised millions with a fundraising project in which the national organization collaborated with association chapters. She has also worked in fundraising at Roosevelt University, the Newberry Library, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Hanson starts at NPR in early October. She will relocate to Washington, D.C., from Chicago.

Scott HanleyScott Hanley signs on as g.m.of WBHM-FM in Birmingham on Aug. 27.

The appointment to the University of Alabama–owned station marks a return to public radio for Hanley, who left his longtime post as g.m. of Pittsburgh’s WDUQ in April 2011 to direct communications for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. Most recently, he was executive director of the Greater Uniontown (Pa.) Heritage Consortium, Inc., which oversees management of the city’s historic State Theatre and Union Trust performing arts venues.

During Hanley’s 16 years at WDUQ, the station doubled its audience and launched new digital and HD radio services. But a 2010–11 bid by Hanley and station supporters to buy the license and preserve its news and jazz format failed to gain support from local funders and was rejected by Duquesne University, prompting his departure in April 2011. The station, now broadcasting an all-news format under the call letters WESA, is owned and operated by Essential Public Media, a nonprofit established by a subsidiary of Public Radio Capital and WYEP, Pittsburgh’s Triple A music station.

Hanley’s 30 years of experience in public radio includes co-founding JazzWorks, a satellite-delivered pubradio program service, and a stint on the NPR Board from 2003–08. In 2011 he received the Public Radio Regional Organization PRRO Award for his work behind the scenes to advance the industry. Hanley began on-air in 1978 at WAAM-AM Talk 1600 in Ann Arbor, Mich., and has spent most of his career at stations in Michigan, Texas and Iowa.

John MoeAmerican Public Media has tapped David Brancaccio to succeed John Moe as host of Marketplace Tech Report.

Beginning in September, Moe will work full time on Wits, a new storytelling and musical performance show that recently completed its third season on Minnesota Public Radio. Brancaccio, who had been contributing to California-based Marketplace as a special correspondent and host of its Morning Report, will continue to work from New York.

“By combining Marketplace Tech Report with coverage from Marketplace’s technology correspondent on the West Coast, we will be able to offer listeners a more comprehensive look at the tech world,” said Judy McAlpine, American Public Media g.m.

Moe helped to conceive and launch Wits in 2010, splitting his time with the ongoing duties of hosting Marketplace Tech Report. “We think there is enormous potential for Wits to go national,” McAlpine said, “and John’s absolutely the right person to lead that effort.”

Jim Wildman, a senior producer on Morning Edition, has taken a sabbatical from NPR to embark on a yearlong journey with his family that will span three continents.

Their trip is inspired by a quote from the Bible’s Psalm 8: “God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.” In an email to Current, Wildman wrote: “We are venturing out in to a world that we believe is God’s creation. His creative mark is all around us. As we travel, we’re hoping to experience these marks — the echoes — in new ways.”

Wildman and his wife, Suby, initially planned a two-week sojourn overseas. That grew into a month, then a summer, then a whole year. Now the Wildmans, who are parents to three boys, plan to visit roughly 20 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. They’ve already been to Iceland and France.

Follow the journey on their blog, hearingtheechoes.com.

Programming

Iowa Public Television has selected Grinnell, Iowa, businessman and farmer Mike Pearson to take over for his late father, Mark, as the host of Market to Market, the network’s weekly national agribusiness series. The elder Pearson died June 2 at the family farm. The station said that Mike Pearson represents “the sixth generation of Pearsons rooted in Midwestern agriculture.” After graduating from Winterset High School in 2003, he managed his family’s grain and livestock operation, and provided market updates and news reports for WOI Radio in Ames, Iowa. He graduated from Simpson College and worked in banking in Grinnell. He and his wife, Heidi, still live there. Mark Pearson hosted the program for the past 20 years. Chet Randolph was the original host for the show’s first 17 years.

Brian Roberts has been promoted to e.p. of MotorWeek, Maryland Public Television’s long-revving national automotive series. He will oversee all aspects of the weekly show covering automotives. Roberts also serves as the primary production liaison with other distribution partners, including Discovery’s Velocity and the V-me Spanish language network. Roberts joined MotorWeek in 1993, and served as producer for the past 11 years. He is a member of the International Motor Press Association and the Washington Automotive Press Association.

Milwaukee radio personalities Jordan Lee and Dori Zori are the new co-hosts for 88Nine RadioMilwaukee’s morning drive-time show, aMKEBrianne O’Brien, morning co-host and managing producer, recently left to pursue a master’s degree in international journalism. Her partner on the show, Stephen Kallao, moved into Lee’s previous weekday afternoon slot. Zori has hosted programs on local noncom WMSE-FM for more than 20 years, most recently The Girlina Show, which featured rock and live performances by Milwaukee bands. She also served as WMSE’s underwriting director and special events coordinator.
Victor Kendall

Development

WLRN Public Radio and Televisionhas appointed Victor Kendall as the new president and c.e.o. for its Friends of WLRN organization. Kendall takes over from Jorge Perez-Alvarez, interim c.e.o., who will continue as the nonprofit’s chief financial officer. Kendall entered public media in 2003 as director of philanthropy and major gifts at KUHF Houston Public Radio, and later became vice president of KERA/KXT North Texas Public Broadcasting System. Previously, he was c.e.o. of the Texas Institute for Arts in Education and development director for the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, a Houston-area outdoor amphitheater. He is active with several community groups, including the New York City Consortium of Free Lance Orchestras and the New York State Education Department’s Arts in Education Council.

Finance

WNET, parent organization of Thirteen and WLIW in New York City and NJTV in New Jersey, has appointed Samantha Green as controller. Green will report to Caroline Croen, v.p., c.f.o. and treasurer, and she succeeds Frank Pesce, who will continue to report to Croen in an advisory capacity. Previously, Green was the associate controller for New York University in Abu Dhabi, and also served as the university’s director of business operations and controller at the Charles H. Revson Foundation.

Digital

KUT-FM in Austin, Texas, has hired its first digital platform content director, Todd Callahan, as part of its efforts to double its services by 2020. “This is a brand-new position and a key one going forward,” said Hawk Mendenhall, KUT’s associate g.m. and director of broadcast and content. Callahan will focus on building the KUT audience across platforms and building a new iPhone app. He spent 10 years at Time Warner Cable overseeing new media and web-content-management-system projects for 13 news division affiliates. Callahan also has previously consulted with KUT.

Dennis Palmieri, communications chief for five years at the Independent Television Service in San Francisco, has moved into a new role as director of innovation and media strategy. Palmieri will focus on the OVEE (Online Video Engagement Experience) project, a digital platform that allows moderated interactive online screenings of video content streamed through PBS.org, and will work directly with ITVS President Sally Jo Fifer on a range of strategic initiatives.

Scott Hanley photo by Mark Vogelzang

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