NPR announced results Tuesday of recent elections for its board of directors.
Rachel Hubbard, executive director of KOSU in Stillwater, Okla., joined the board. She is filling an unexpired term vacated by Scott Finn and will serve the remainder of the term, which ends in November 2026. Hubbard has led KOSU since 2020. Finn left his position as CEO of Vermont Public last year and recently joined the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont.
“The media industry continues to be disrupted. NPR and public media are in an amazing position to take advantage of an opportunity and be the best version of what our network was designed to be,” said Hubbard in a news release. “I look forward to serving with this group of colleagues as we navigate and collectively shape what is to come.”
Shawn Turner, GM of WKAR in East Lansing, Mich., also joined the board. Turner, who is filling an unexpired term vacancy, will serve the remainder of the term, which ends in November. Turner became the station’s permanent GM in 2022. He takes a board seat vacated by A. Rima Dael, who left her position as GM for WSHU in Fairfield, Conn., last year to become CEO of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters
“It’s an honor to serve on the board of the most trusted, respected, and important media organizations in the country,” Turner said in the release. “I can’t think of a time when NPR’s mission to create a more informed public, and to ensure that every American has access to reliable and factual news and information, was more critical.”
Michal Heiplik was appointed CEO of the Contributor Development Partnership.
Heiplik was previously promoted to president of the organization in 2020. Heiplik co-founded CDP, a fundraising organization affiliated with GBH in Boston, in 2017. He worked as EVP before becoming its leader.
“At a time when the fundamentals of local media and journalism are facing transformation, Michal will advance CDP’s leadership supporting public media across the nation with innovative solutions that support stability and growth,” said CDP Board Chair Jonathan Abbott in a news release. “Michal cares deeply for our mission and has been essential to CDP’s success. He will continue to advance the use of data, analytics, contributor programs and systems to fuel growth and scale innovation.”
Ali Rogin became a correspondent for PBS NewsHour and PBS NewsWeekend.
Rogin joined NewsHour in 2019 as a producer on the foreign affairs desk and became a correspondent for the weekend program in 2022.
“I’ve had the pleasure of watching Ali Rogin grow as a journalist over several years,” said EP Sara Just in a news release. “Her remarkable curiosity and compassion are essential ingredients to her success. We are thrilled to feature her work on PBS NewsHour and PBS News Weekend as a full-time correspondent.”
Prior to joining NewsHour, Rogin was a radio reporter and producer covering Capitol Hill and the State Department for ABC News. She has also been a political researcher, White House producer and campaign reporter for NBC News.
Development
Natasha Collins was hired as senior director of principal and major gifts for PBS SoCal in Los Angeles. Collins most recently worked as senior major gifts officer for Classical KING in Seattle. She previously worked as director of development for KSDS, a jazz station in San Diego.
Content
Nick Spicer joined NPR’s International Desk as Europe editor. Spicer most recently worked as a presenter and correspondent for Deutsche Welle and France 24. He has also been a correspondent for Al Jazeera and Moscow bureau chief at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., and from 2001–04 he covered Europe for NPR. “Nick is a reporter who is comfortable on air, online and on screen,” said Chief International Editor Didrik Schanche in a staff memo.
Jessica Turk was hired as PD for The Programming Service, a Tampa, Fla.–based public television organization that serves 50 public TV clients. Turk most recently worked as director of programming for Nashville Public Television. She joined NPT in 2015 as assistant program manager and was also program manager. Turk currently serves on the PBS Programming Advisory Committee and was also on the Public Television Programming Association board.
Anne Guttridge announced on LinkedIn that she joined Minnesota Public Radio as a video producer for MPR News. Guttridge most recently worked for TPT in St. Paul, Minn., as an associate producer. She joined TPT in 2019 as a production coordinator and has also worked as a production assistant. “I’ll be creating videos for social media and helping develop their video strategy,” she said. “I’m thrilled that I get to continue working in public media to share local stories with emerging audiences!”
Governance
Isabel Lara, chief communications officer of NPR, was elected to the Alliance for Women in Media and its Foundation board of directors. Lara will serve a two-year term on the board. She has worked for NPR since 2014 and received her chief title in 2021.
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