NPR’s board of directors elected Sarah Morris, GM of KCUR in Kansas City, Mo., as a member director.
Morris will take the seat held by Stephen George, who is leaving his job as CEO of Louisville Public Media in January. Morris’ tenure in the unexpired term vacancy begins Jan. 2.
Morris became interim GM of KCUR in 2020 and was formally named GM in 2021.
“It’s a privilege to serve on the board of one of the nation’s most respected media organizations,” Morris said in a news release. “NPR’s mission to keep the public informed with essential news and information has never been more critical — and with the media landscape rapidly changing, we are uniquely positioned to fulfill our network’s true potential. I’m eager to work with my colleagues to shape what’s next.”
Erik Nordin was named CTO of GBH in Boston.
Nordin succeeds Shane Miner, who shifted from CTO to COO last year.
Nordin joined GBH in 2016 as technical project manager. He has since held leadership positions within the technology department, including interim co-CTO. He began his career in the financial services sector with roles in business analysis and project management at both John Hancock and Bank of America.
George Beneman, SVP and CTO of Maryland Public Television, is retiring after 55 years in public media.
Beneman, who joined MPT in 1969 as a studio camera operator, plans to leave the organization in May. After becoming CTO in 2014, Beneman led the implementation of ATSC 3.0 at the station, completed a $14 million upgrade to MPT’s six transmitters and distribution system, and oversaw a $9 million expansion and renovation of the station’s primary production studio, the Irene and Edward H. Kaplan Production Studio.
Beneman has served on PBS’ engineering technology advisory committee. He was also a director for Wall $treet Week when MPT produced it.
“When I retire, I’m looking for ways to continue to give back,” Beneman said. He plans to continue volunteering for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, where he provides vessel safety checks and teaches safe boating classes. He also plans to volunteer with wildlife reserves and work as a lighting designer and theatrical design consultant.
Management
Jordan L. Siegler was named interim executive director of Wisconsin Public Media. Siegler’s appointment follows the Oct. 10 death of Heather L. Reese. Siegler most recently worked as associate director. He has also been interim CDO for Wisconsin Public Radio and managing director of corporate giving and events for PBS Wisconsin. “We are all still grieving the loss of Heather, and a change in leadership, especially one that comes after the sudden loss of a colleague, is especially challenging,” said Amy Gilman, UW-Madison senior director for the arts and media, in a news release. “I am confident Jordan will lead the organization with the same integrity and vision that is the hallmark of WPM leadership.”
Content
Claire Trageser was promoted to public matters editor for KPBS in San Diego. She will lead the Public Matters initiative, a partnership with Voice of San Diego that will create explanatory articles about government and facilitate in-person discussion about local issues. Trageser joined the station in 2012 as a web producer. She has also been a multimedia enterprise reporter, an investigative reporter and a deputy investigations/digital fellowship editor.
Traffic
PBS Reno in Nevada promoted Melissa Peel to traffic manager. She succeeds Barbara Harmon, who retired in March after working for more than 27 years at the station. In addition to inputting and maintaining the monthly program schedule, Peel will also be responsible for FCC and Nielsen reporting, scheduling underwriting content, program promos and additional content. Peel joined the station in 2015 as a broadcast content operator. She most recently worked as a programming assistant.
Fellowships
Firelight Media announced the latest cohort for its 18-month Documentary Lab, which supports Black, Indigenous and other filmmakers of color working on their first or second feature-length documentary. Firelight awards a $25,000 grant for each project accepted into the fellowship. The fellows and their films are:
- Shaima Al Tamimi and Mayar Hamdan, whose film The Myth of Mahmoud focuses on the lives of a Palestinian family and a mother who is approaching retirement.
- Siyi Chen and Hansen Lin, whose project Queens Ballroom profiles Asian Americans in New York’s ballroom scene.
- Rachael DeCruz, whose documentary Nine covers Gerald, who was sent to prison for life at the age of 18. The relationship between Gerald, known as “Nine,” and Henry, the man who raised him, is explored throughout the film.
- Gabriela Díaz Arp, whose documentary Matininó focuses on a multigenerational family of Puerto Rican women who transform their experiences with violence into a fantasy film.
- Sekiya Dorsett, whose project 20 Years of Longing covers a Caribbean lesbian couple who reflect on their two-decade journey of love and resilience.
- Hana Elias, whose film If These Stones Could Talk discusses a family’s love story in a Palestinian town.
- Tommy Franklin, whose project You Don’t Know My Name covers Franklin’s search for his birth mother who was separated from him while she was incarcerated.
- Milton Guillén, whose documentary My Skin and I covers a son who watches as his exiled father, a Nicaraguan music producer, plots revenge following his imprisonment and expulsion.
- Eli Hiller, whose film Becoming Us focuses on five donor-conceived siblings, their mothers and their newfound biological father who unite through a DNA test.
- Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, whose documentary The First Plantation focuses on the filmmaker’s visit to Barbados to tell the story of Drax Hall, the oldest continuously owned and operated sugar plantation in the Americas.
- Roni Jo Draper and Marissa Lila, whose film Good Fire discusses the indigenous Yurok, who have fought to maintain a balanced ecosystem through the use of fire.
- Amada Torruella, whose documentary Vena Acuática covers an ecologist in El Salvador who works on the intersection of science and culture.
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