PBS Hawai‘i CEO Leslie Wilcox announced Tuesday that she will step down early next year.
Wilcox is relocating to San Antonio to be with an ailing family member, according to a news release.
“PBS Hawai‘i has been a labor of love and learning for me,” Wilcox said in the release. “It’s been an honor to steward such a vital public service, upholding fact-based journalism and universal access to education.”
Wilcox joined the station in 2007. She helped lead a capital campaign for a $30 million facility that opened in Honolulu in 2016. She has also hosted a weekly program, Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox. In March, she interviewed PBS President Paula Kerger.
Wilcox previously worked as an EP, anchor and reporter for the NBC and later Fox affiliate KHON in Honolulu. She also held several roles with CBS affiliate KGMB in Honolulu and worked as a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
She was also a co-anchor for Asia Now, a co-production of PBS Hawai‘i, KCTS in Seattle and NHK in Japan.
“Leslie is an extraordinary leader, an overachiever, with a heart for Hawai‘i that never quits,” said Joanne Lo Grimes, chair of PBS Hawai‘i’s board of directors, in the release. “She faces challenges with calm and grace, and has led positive, transformative change throughout her tenure.”
Grimes is overseeing the search for Wilcox’s successor.
Congratulations on your career success as a print and broadcast journalist for many years and your subsequent success as the leader of a statewide media organization. All my best to you, Leslie!