Carrie Storer will step down as Chief Human Resources Officer at NPR this month.
Selyn Hong, who was promoted to VP of human resources for NPR in February, will take on Storer’s role March 28, according to an NPR spokesperson. The position will be renamed “Chief People Officer” to reflect “Selyn’s commitment to the people of our organization,” Storer said in a note to NPR staff.
“Selyn has been my most trusted partner and adviser as we have navigated the past two years,” Storer said. “She embodies the traits that I believe a leader needs to be successful at NPR: humble, curious, and committed to doing the right thing, even when the right thing is hard to do. I know she will be amazing as Chief People Officer, and that the team will thrive under her leadership.”
Storer informed NPR CEO John Lansing of her decision to leave in November, noting that she needed to spend time with her family after the last two years of the pandemic.
“I am proud, inspired, and… ready for a break,” Storer said. “As COVID finally begins to recede, I am going to take some extended time to be present with my family, my community, and myself. I am not sure what’s next for me, but I am confident in this choice because I am leaving our HR team in excellent hands.”
Storer joined NPR in 2019 as chief of HR, managing talent acquisition, benefits and labor relations. Before entering public media, she spent a decade at Discovery Inc. in its human resources and legal divisions. She began her career in law in the U.S. Army JAG Corps and later worked as an associate at private law firms.
“Since her first day at NPR, Carrie Storer has committed herself to advancing our workforce culture, systems, and vision,” Lansing said in an email to NPR colleagues. “If you spent time in Carrie’s office at NPR in the ‘before times’ you could see that vision on full display, in walls that were plastered with colorful sticky notes and process maps that she used to chart the ambitious and detailed work.”
Hong worked at several law firms, including Seyfarth Shaw LLP, before joining NPR as the organization’s senior director of employee & labor relations and investigations
in 2020. Her background in labor relations made her a key player in the SAG-AFTRA Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations last year, according to an NPR release. Hong also supervised NPR’s crisis management team during the pandemic.