NPR hired Veralyn Williams as EP of It’s Been a Minute and The Limits with Jay Williams.
Williams previously worked as senior editor of LWC Studios, where she developed and launched the Trials To Triumphs podcast and podcasts for the Oprah Winfrey Network. In addition to being a producer for Slate, Williams has held several positions with New York Public Radio.
Jessica Placzek will join NPR next month as supervising editor of It’s Been a Minute. Placzek is senior editor of podcasts for KQED in San Francisco. She joined the station in 2015 as an intern and has also been a podcast producer, reporter and editor.
“Both Jessica and Veralyn have been fully immersed in our search for a new host of It’s Been a Minute,” said Senior Director of Programming Yolanda Sangweni in a staff memo. The previous host for the program, Sam Sanders, left NPR to create a podcast for Vox Media.
American Documentary, the production company behind public television’s POV and America ReFramed, announced two promotions.
Robert Y. Chang was named coordinating producer for POV. Chang previously worked as coordinating producer for America ReFramed, co-produced with the World Channel. He joined AmDoc in 2017.
Robert Salyer was promoted to POV Engage’s manager of outreach and impact. He will help lead the “Our America: Documentaries in Dialogue” project, an initiative to help PBS stations and local partners increase civic dialogue. Salyer previously worked as outreach specialist for POV Engage. He has also been a filmmaker for Appalshop in Whitesburg, Ky., and was producer of Portraits and Dreams, a documentary that aired nationally on POV in 2020.
NPR announced several hires for its visuals team.
Jackie Lay was hired as an associate producer of motion graphics. Lay previously worked as a motion designer for the Washington Post and was also a motion designer for NPR last year. Her additional motion-design positions include stints with Explained, a Vox series on Netflix. She was also an art director for the Atlantic.
Christina Shaman became an associate video producer for the YouTube podcast team. Shaman previously worked as a researcher and producer at Brut, a short-form video platform.
Langston Sessoms was hired as an associate video producer for the YouTube podcast team. Sessoms previously worked as a freelance filmmaker and has directed music videos and short-form digital content for Griselda Records, Target, Adidas, Champs Sport and Pampers.
Iman Young will be an associate video producer for the YouTube podcast team. She previously worked as a freelance production assistant for BuzzFeed, Genius and CNN’s Documentary Unit.
Kaz Fantone joined the YouTube podcast team as an assistant producer for motion graphics. Fantone first joined NPR as an illustration intern in 2020 and most recently worked as a freelance animator for All Things Considered and Tiny Desk.
Content
Chloe Veltman was hired as a correspondent for NPR’s Culture Desk. She starts the job July 18. Veltman most recently worked as an arts and culture reporter for KQED in San Francisco, a station she joined in 2015. She previously worked as an arts editor for Colorado Public Radio and was an arts and culture columnist based in the Bay Area for the New York Times.
Walter Carroll, a classical music host for New England Public Media, will retire from the station next month. “I speak for many in wishing him and his wife Ann all the best and many years of enjoying traveling, attending the opera and visiting with family and friends,” said NEPM Senior Director of Radio John Voci in a news release. Carroll joined NEPM in 1989. He previously worked as a classical music programmer for New Hampshire Public Radio, pursued a theatrical career in Amsterdam, and spent another nine years in Tokyo, appearing on NHK, dubbing films into English and narrating documentaries.
Luke X. Martin was promoted to culture editor for KCUR in Kansas City, Mo. He starts the job Friday. “I’ll be coordinating the station’s coverage on race, ethnicity, arts, culture & sports,” Martin said on Twitter. Martin first joined the station as an intern in 2011. He rejoined the station in 2016 as associate producer and became the race and culture reporter in 2020.
Jamyla Krempel left her position as digital content director for WYPR in Baltimore to become a digital editor for the Baltimore Banner, the upstart newsroom founded and funded by Stewart Bainum Jr. Krempel first joined WYPR in 2012 as a producer, left in 2014, then returned as a digital producer in 2016.
Louisa Jonas was hired as a reporter for WYPR in Baltimore. Jonas previously worked as an English to Speakers of Other Languages family literacy instructor for the Community College of Baltimore County. She was also a reporter for Texas Public Radio and was a digital content producer for WYPR from 2007–09.
Halle Zander became anchor for All Things Considered at Aspen Public Radio in Colorado. She steps in for Brent Gardner-Smith, the news director who has been the fill-in afternoon host since last year. Zander joined the station in 2021 as a reporter.
Marketing
Allison Monette, director of communications and brand management for Vegas PBS, announced that she’s leaving the station to become VP of marketing and communications for Blueprint Sports. Monette joined the station in 2019. She previously worked as public information officer and communications manager for the Clark County School District in Nevada.
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