Marjorie Powell, NPR’s VP for human resources, is no longer working for the network.
Powell “decided to leave NPR,” according to a Jan. 11 staff memo by COO Loren Mayor. An NPR spokesperson confirmed Powell’s departure.
According to the memo, Mayor appointed consultant Graciela Montgomery to serve as chief HR officer, a change intended “to bring C-level support to our HR division on a temporary basis.”
“I will continue to think about the leadership structure that will best support HR and the organization, and how to fill this new vacancy,” Mayor wrote.
During a Jan. 9 event discussing sexual harassment in media organizations, Mayor said NPR staff have complained about a lack of financial investment in HR.
NPR has prioritized investments in content, which has meant departments like HR “were very thinly staffed,” she said at the event. “They were overworked by busy work, and so they weren’t trusted connectors in the building.”