Comings and goings: CPB appoints VP, PBS announces board changes …
Barsoum
Clayton Barsoum was promoted to VP of government and external affairs at CPB.
Barsoum succeeds Anne Brachman, formerly SVP of government and external affairs. Brachman left the corporation to become director of government relations for the Smithsonian Institution. She had worked for CPB since 2012.
Barsoum first joined CPB in 2017 as a legislative assistant and became director of government affairs in 2020. He left in 2022 to become director of government affairs for the Raben Group and returned in 2023 as a senior director.
He’s also been an administrative assistant for the Agricultural Retailers Association, deputy operations director for the Michigan Democratic Coordinated Campaign and a government affairs intern for PBS.
PBS announced upcoming changes to its board of directors.
Rob Dunlop, CEO of Cascade Public Media in Seattle, and Courtney Pledger, CEO of Arkansas PBS, will leave the board in October due to term limits.
South Florida PBS CEO Dolores Fernandez Alonso is eligible for a second three-year term on the board, and Franz Joachim, CEO of New Mexico PBS, is eligible for his first full three-year term on the board since he filled a midterm vacancy in 2022.
Lisa Shumate plans to leave the board before retiring as GM of Houston Public Media this year. The board will fill her seat and has asked members and PBS stations to name candidates.
General directors Catherine Robb and Geoff Sands are eligible for nomination to an optional one-, two-, or three-year term. Two holdover general directors, Maxine Clark and Chuck Hagel, have agreed to serve until their successors are elected.
WAMU in Washington, D.C., announced editorial changes.
Alex Koma was hired as a senior reporter covering Washington, D.C. Koma most recently worked as a politics and government reporter for the Washington City Paper, where he also contributed to the “Loose Lips” column. Koma has also been a reporter for the Washington Business Journal and managing editor for ARLnow in Arlington, Va.
Alexandra Botti was promoted to senior supervising producer at 1A. She previously worked as national elections and politics producer for 1A. She’s also been a supervising producer for Axios, senior producer of WNYC’s The Takeaway in New York and senior producer for The Diane Rehm Show at WAMU.
WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, announced two appointments.
Kyle Wilson joined the station as a business support account manager. He previously worked as director of statewide sponsorships for a public media collaboration in Ohio. He was also senior account executive of outside sales for iHeartMedia based in Dayton.
Barry Leonhard became the station’s music department coordinator. Leonhard will continue to host Club Cuts, a Friday night electronic music show.
Development
Dennis Brooks joined KSMQ in Austin, Minn., as underwriter and sponsorship manager. Brooks previously worked for Townsquare Media, first as director of sales and later as senior account executive. He was also an account executive for Minnesota Public Radio from 2010–22. “His deep knowledge of the region, along with his experience in media partnerships, sponsorship development, and audience engagement, makes him a great addition to our team,” said Station Manager Laura Archbold on LinkedIn.
Engineering
Chris Pandich was promoted from interim to chief broadcast engineer for PBS North Carolina. Pandich joined PBSNC in 2016 as a broadcast and information technology engineer and has been media management engineer, studio engineer and director of engineering services. “Chris helped lead field operations during Hurricane Helene and the weeks that followed,” said PBSNC CEO David Crabtree in a news release. “During that challenging time, PBS North Carolina never lost its broadcast signal nor its ability to support emergency communications. We’re very fortunate to have Chris help lead in our network’s mission to keep North Carolinians informed, safe and connected.”
Governance
Kate Riley, CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, was elected to the board of directors for the Broadcasters Foundation of America. Riley became CEO of APTS last year and joined the advocacy group in 2010.
Send news of “comings and goings” to people@current.org
