Lara starts new job at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Former NPR Chief Communications Officer Isabel Lara has joined the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

Lara posted what she called a “big life update” on Bluesky about starting a new job at the aquarium on Monday. 

Lara’s LinkedIn page shows that she departed NPR in March. She started with the network in 2014 as director of media relations and was promoted to chief communications officer in 2021. 

Neither NPR nor Lara could immediately be reached for comment. 

The roster of NPR leaders posted on NPR’s website now lists Heather Walls as SVP, communications. She joined the NPR executive team between Jan. 26 and March 28, according to Wayback machine screenshots of NPR’s leadership webpage. 

Walls and NPR President Katherine Maher previously worked together at the Wikimedia Foundation, according to a 2018 foundation news release. Walls, who had taken on the job of interim communications officer, was promoted to chief creative officer. At the time, Maher led Wikimedia as executive director.