For the past two years, Current has shined a spotlight on professionals under 35 who are making a real difference to public media organizations and the communities they serve. These Rising Stars are overachievers, risk-takers, creative problem-solvers, idea generators, helpful colleagues, future leaders and more. They get sh*t done!
I love the Rising Stars program because it’s exciting to learn about so many young unsung heroes and sheroes in our field. Each group of Rising Stars offers hope and inspiration – two things I think all of us in public media need, especially right now.
Current relies on you to help identify Rising Stars. The first step is to nominate them for recognition and describe their achievements.
We are fortunate that digital natives bring their energies and skills to our organizations. But too often younger people in our system don’t get the acknowledgement they deserve. If public media is going to retain talented staff, we need to applaud their accomplishments and sing their praises. Current’s Rising Stars is a terrific way to do that.
This year’s nomination period is now open. We made it earlier in 2025 so that the Rising Stars can be recognized in May, coinciding with the PBS Annual Meeting.
It is a challenge for our judges to choose who to honor each year. As you can imagine, the nominees are impressive.
Completing the nomination form is not a big lift. But your submission will be more persuasive if you take a little time to think about your answers to these questions before you fill it out:
- Why do you consider your nominee a “Rising Star”?
- Describe a time when your nominee’s work made a difference to you, your organization, and, if relevant, your audience.
Your nomination will be all our judges have to go on in evaluating your nominee. You have the power to give your Rising Star their best chance of moving from nominee to semifinalist to finalist to honoree. You can do that! Do it for them!
We look forward to receiving your nominations of public media colleagues in all kinds of roles at all kinds of stations with all kinds of formats in all regions of the country. And we also welcome nominations of those under 35 who work at NPR, PBS and other national organizations. If you nominated someone special last year and they weren’t named a Rising Star, you may renominate them.
The deadline to submit your nominations is Feb. 28 at midnight. Set yourself a few calendar reminders between now and then so this opportunity doesn’t slip through the cracks. There’s no penalty for turning your nomination in early, but we will love you for that!