Olivia Wong was hired as VP of marketing and communications for American Public Television, effective Jan. 25.
She succeeds Jamie Haines, who will retire in March. Haines joined APT as director of communications in 2007 and was later promoted to VP of communications.
Wong most recently worked as senior director of strategic communications for WETA in Washington, D.C. She joined the station in 2016 as director of public relations. Before that, she held several roles for GBH in Boston, including national promotion assistant, associate national publicist and senior account executive overseeing publicity for Masterpiece.
Wong is the immediate past chair of the National Educational Telecommunications Association marketing and communications peer learning community executive council. She has also been a member and mentor for the Public Media Women in Leadership program.
“Olivia’s strategic strengths, combined with her impressive relationships in print, television, radio and online media, and her experience in promoting content across multiple platforms, will be essential as APT’s content increases prominence in public media and channels around the world,” said CEO Cynthia Fenneman in a news release.
“Elevating the profile of content and initiatives is more important than ever in today’s media landscape,” Wong said. “As a Massachusetts native, I look forward to joining APT in Boston as the organization celebrates 60 years of success in bringing high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations.”
Whitney Maddox will join NPR as diversity, equity and inclusion manager, effective Feb. 1.
In a note to staff, Chief Diversity Officer Keith Woods said Maddox will be part of the NPR Training team and will lead antiracism workshops and other training for NPR and member stations, among other duties. Woods said Maddox was one of 499 candidates for the position.
Maddox most recently worked as the assistant director for leadership development and racial justice initiatives at Georgetown University’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service.
Content
Aaron Glantz was hired as senior investigations editor for public radio’s California newsroom, a collaboration among NPR and stations in the state. Glantz will be tasked with building a joint investigative unit for the state’s public radio stations, which will collaborate with NPR. “It took a lot to pry me away, but the new gig is really special,” Glantz said on Twitter. He will report to Managing Editor Joanne Griffith. Glantz will leave his role as a senior reporter for Reveal, led by the Center for Investigative Reporting. He has also been a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.
Paige Pfleger was hired as arts, culture and music reporter for WNXP, a music station owned by Nashville Public Radio. She previously worked as a reporter for WOSU in Columbus, Ohio. She was also an associate producer for The Pulse, WHYY’s weekly syndicated health and science program.
Sydney Boles was hired as a newsletter and community engagement editor for WJCT in Jacksonville, Fla. Boles previously worked as a reporter for WMMT in Whitesburg, Ky., and the Ohio Valley ReSource Journalism Collaborative, a multistation effort supported by CPB.
Governance
The Association of Independents in Radio elected Rob Byers as a new board member. Byers is director of broadcast and media production at American Public Media and is a consultant, audio engineer and trainer for Final Final v2, an audio production company. Byers previously worked as a senior production strategist and audio engineer for NPR. He has also been technical director and technical coordinator for music at APM.
Fellowships
Black Public Media announced its 2021 cohort for the 360° Incubator+ fellowship, a three-month program designed to support independent producers who are working on projects “that focus on the Black experience.” The fellows include: Elizabeth Charles (Before We Wrap), Dru Holley (Buffalo Soldiers Fighting on Two Fronts), Yeelen Cohen and Ife Olujobi (Fighting for the Light), Tonya Hopkins and Laura Colleouri (The Food Griot), Ameha Molla and Rajal Pitrola (Higher 15), Carrie Hawks and Chelsea Moore (Inner Wound Real), Stephanie Etienne and Kanika Harris (Listen to Me) Hazel Gurland-Pooler and Naz Habtezghi (Storming Caesars Palace), Allison Shillingford and J. Lathon (The Ride), and Malkia Lydia and Kahlil Munir (What’s in a Name). The program, which will be held virtually, culminates in the PitchBLACKForum and PitchBLACK Awards, where participants will compete for up to $150,000 in production support.
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