NPR has hired Leora Hanser, a fundraising executive who has worked for the U.S. Soccer Foundation and the National Geographic Society, as chief development officer.
Her appointment, announced Tuesday, fills a key vacancy in NPR’s executive ranks. She will sign on Feb. 1, nearly 20 months after the departure of Stephanie Witte in 2019.
“Leora is a leader with a wealth of experience in fundraising, skill in leading and motivating teams, a personal commitment to NPR’s diversity priorities, and the dedication to navigate public radio through the competitive and constantly changing landscape of philanthropy today,” NPR CEO John Lansing said in a press release. “Her twenty-year career has been driven by a passion for public service, in pursuit of equity and equality for all.”
Hanser most recently served as CDO at the US Soccer Foundation. Earlier in her career she was SVP for partnerships at the National Geographic Society, oversaw public-private partnerships for the City of New York and worked as director of campaigns and advocacy at Save the Children UK.
“What excited me most about NPR was the opportunity to join public radio now, when independent fact-based journalism has never been more under threat,” Hanser said in the release. “I am eager to bring my track record of growing revenue to drive and support philanthropy not just at NPR but with Member stations.”