Lori Kaplan was promoted to VP of audience insights for NPR.
Kaplan joined the network in 1997 as a research analyst. She has also been a research manager and most recently worked as senior director of audience insights.
“I’m delighted to be able to represent the innovative, driven, and highly-skilled members of the digital analytics and research teams and bring the insights they uncover day in and day out to this new position,” Kaplan said in a news release. “Understanding our current and potential audiences has never been more important to shaping our future. Together, with the leadership team, we will convert data to decisions.”
Maura Daly Phinney was promoted to SVP of membership engagement and strategy for the Public Media Group of Southern California.
Phinney, who most recently worked as VP of membership and on-air fundraising, joined the organization in 2014. PMGSC oversees PBS SoCal and KCET in Los Angeles.
She previously worked as senior producer and on-air fundraising manager for KPBS in San Diego and also held producer roles for WETA in Washington, D.C., and KQED in San Francisco.
“Maura is [a] trusted leader who is respected by our community and by our colleagues across the PBS system,” said COO Jamie Annunzio Myers in a staff memo sent to Current. “In her new key role, I know Maura will ensure our members continue to engage more deeply with our organization, our membership operations are effective and efficient, and our membership teams have the resources they need to do the important work that advances our mission through our digital transformation.”
Adrienne McWilliams joined jazz station WBGO in Newark, N.J., as chief of business support.
McWilliams previously worked as senior sales director for SiriusXM. She was also senior account executive for ESPN, a station manager for Radio Disney and national sales manager for Tribune Broadcasting.
“I’m a believer in the power of audio to bring people together and jazz is the perfect mechanism to do that,” McWilliams said in a news release. “Jazz is America’s original art form. It’s important to continue to lift it and expose it to new generations on air and online while building programs for advertisers that resonate with a community as diverse as its music.”
Vermont Public announced changes to its lineup of hosts.
Jenn Jarecki will host All Things Considered Mondays and Fridays. Jarecki joined the station in 2018 as a corporate support associate and became a producer and host earlier this year.
Mary Williams Engisch will host ATC Tuesday through Thursday. Engisch will continue working as a host for the station on Saturdays. She joined the station in 2011.
Marlon Hyde became a Sunday host for the station. Hyde joined the station last year as its first news fellow.
Engagement/education
Mara Drogan joined WMHT Public Media in Troy, N.Y., as director of community engagement and education. Drogan most recently worked as city clerk for the city of Troy. She was also an instructor for the Center For Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University.
Katey Lundy was hired as education manager II for PBS Reno in Nevada. Lundy previously worked as an elementary school teacher for the Washoe County School District and Mater Academy of Northern Nevada.
Content
Sadie Babits was hired as supervising climate editor for NPR, according to a staff memo from Chief Climate Editor Andrea Kissack. Babits is board president for the Society of Environmental Journalists. She most recently worked as a professor of practice for Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she helped run the school’s audio programming for Cronkite News. She was also news director for Colorado Public Radio and for Boise State Public Radio.
Sueann Ramella was promoted to PD for Northwest Public Broadcasting in Pullman, Wash. She succeeds Tom Hungate, who is retiring. Ramella started working for NWPB in 1997 when she was a sophomore at Washington State University, the station’s licensee. She has also been host for Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
Robby Korth became news director for KOSU in Stillwater, Okla. Korth previously worked as an education reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma, a news collaboration among NPR stations in the state. He was also a higher education reporter for Virginia’s Roanoke Times. “As KOSU strives to fill the information gaps left as other news outlets shrink, we need strong leadership that can help with that growth,” said KOSU Executive Director Rachel Hubbard in a news release.
Emily Siner announced that she’s leaving her position as news director for Nashville Public Radio next month. She was selected for the Fulbright Program earlier this year and has been on sabbatical since August. “I’ll be able to share more about my next steps soon,” Siner said on Twitter, adding that she will continue to live in Nashville. Siner joined the station in 2014 as a reporter and was also assistant news director before starting her news director role in 2017.
Alexis Marshall became an education reporter for Nashville Public Radio. Marshall first joined the station in 2018 as a reporting intern and rejoined in 2020 as a morning producer. She was also an Education Desk intern for NPR in 2019.
Fellowships
Public Media Women in Leadership announced the second cohort for its CEO/COO Boot Camp. The six-month program will provide classes for fellows over three years. The fellows are:
- Ernesto Aguilar, director of radio programming for KQED in San Francisco
- Sarah Ashworth, SVP of content for Vermont Public
- Jeneissy Azcuy, VP of marketing and communications for South Florida PBS
- Michele Colomer, assistant station manager for WFMU in East Orange, N.J.
- Kay Coz, director of institutional giving for the WNET Group in New York
- Valerie Eurs, director of development for KEET in Eureka, Calif.
- Tamara Gould, head of international co-productions and strategic partnerships for the Independent Television Service
- Cari Kozicki, VP of project management for Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem, Pa.
- Julianne Lamsek, information technology director for Cascade Public Media in Seattle
- Whitney Maddox, diversity, equity and inclusion director for NPR
- Kellie May, manager of communications and digital initiatives for CET in Cincinnati and ThinkTV in Dayton, Ohio
- Dorothy McGrath, production manager for Milwaukee PBS
- Elena Morlock, office manager for Marfa Public Radio in Texas
- Roger Mukasa, finance manager for PBS Wisconsin
- Terri Murray, CCO and VP of programming and production for WHYY in Philadelphia
- Anna Neel, COO for Mississippi Public Broadcasting
- Lisa Olken, director of content for PBS Utah
- Tabitha Safdi, CCO for South Carolina ETV
- Jessica Turk, director of programming for Nashville Public Television
- Jenell Walton, VP of content for Cincinnati Public Radio
Send news of “comings and goings” to [email protected]