CPB promoted Kathy Merritt to chief of station and system strategies.
Merritt, who most recently worked as CPB’s SVP of journalism, radio and Community Service Grant services, has worked in public media since 1983. Her previous positions include news director for WFAE in Charlotte, N.C.; station manager of WAMU in Washington, D.C.; and director of public media strategies for the Station Resource Group.
Merritt first joined CPB in 2005 as director of program investments in radio and was promoted to senior director in 2010. She left CPB in 2013 to work as VP of content strategy and development for Public Radio International before returning to CPB in 2017 as SVP of journalism and radio.
NPR appointed Darryl Walston SVP of its People Team.
Walston joined NPR in 2022 as senior director of people strategy. He became interim chief people officer last year.
Before joining NPR, he held several HR positions at Discovery, including director of people and culture. He’s also worked in HR for Lockheed Martin and the Aspen Institute.
Walston will report to NPR CFO Daphne Kwon.
“Darryl has been an invaluable partner to me from the moment I arrived at NPR,” said CEO Katherine Maher in a news release. “He rose to the challenge of leadership and responsibility when the organization needed him, filling the role of interim CPO for a full year. His strategic insights and unflappable approach to unforeseen challenges have earned the support of his colleagues and the respect and admiration of his peers on the executive team, and I’m thrilled to recognize and elevate his work.”
Development
Grace Zafasi was promoted to director of development for Little Rock Public Radio, licensed to the University of Arkansas, which oversees KUAR and the classical music station KLRE. Zafasi joined the organization in 2022 as membership director. Before that, she was a support groups manager for Mental Health America of Ohio.
Marketing
Yunis Cho was promoted to director of marketing for PBS Reno in Nevada. Cho joined the station in 2022 as a web specialist. She was previously brand design associate director for SBS Medianet in Korea and head of creative and content for Nickelodeon programming in Korea.
Content
Darryl Huger joined South Carolina ETV and Public Radio as news director. Huger most recently worked as a senior communications specialist in corporate communications for Dominion Energy. Before that, he held several commercial news positions, including news director for WACH, a Fox affiliate in Columbia, S.C., and news director for WTVM/WXTX, an ABC affiliate in Columbus, Ga.
Donna Blankinship retired from her position as news editor for Cascade PBS in Seattle. “I’m looking forward to watching the future of this great nonprofit newsroom from the sidelines,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “I’m not going to retire to the pickleball courts, but I am going to slow way down and be very picky about any work I take on.” Blankinship joined the station in 2019 after working as an editorial writer for the Seattle Times. She’s also been a reporter for the Associated Press.
Victoria Traxler was hired as a rural policy reporter for Montana Public Radio. Traxler, who graduated with a master’s degree from the University of Montana School of Journalism last year, previously worked as a freelance fact-checker and reporter for the station. She’s also been a public safety reporter for the Sante Fe New Mexican. “Our goal is to bring Montanans news about state government from outside the state Capitol in Helena,” said news director Corin Cates-Carney in a news release. “There is a need for reporting on state government that listens and speaks to the state’s rural residents — coverage that can inform and build trust in local journalism.” Traxler’s position was created with help from a $180,000 grant from CPB. Traxler’s reporting will be available across the state for free thanks to a collaboration with Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings and the University of Montana School of Journalism.
Governance
America’s Public Television Stations announced the results of recent board elections that take effect Feb. 25:
- Dolores Fernandez Alonso, CEO of South Florida PBS, was elected board chair. She most recently served as vice chair and will succeed Franz Joachim, CEO of New Mexico PBS.
- Adrienne Fairwell, CEO of South Carolina Educational Television, was elected professional vice chair.
- Garrett King, board president for Friends of OETA, a nonprofit that supports the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, was elected lay vice chair.
The newly elected trustees are:
- Darren LaShelle, CEO of Northern California Public Media in Rohnert Park;
- Mary Nelson, lay trustee of Nine PBS in St. Louis;
- Deborah Smith, lay trustee of Alaska Public Media;
- Sylvia Strobel, CEO of TPT in St. Paul, Minn.
Send news of “comings and goings” to [email protected]