Our 2025 Rising Stars are shaping the future of public media

Are you ready for some news that will brighten your day and outlook? 

Current’s 2025 cohort of Rising Stars includes 15 early- and mid-career professionals who are carrying public media’s mission forward in new and innovative ways. 

Each was nominated by a supervisor or a colleague for outstanding accomplishments that made a difference for their workplace, their community or public media at large. The group of honorees includes marketing strategists, educational outreach specialists and content creators working in a variety of formats and roles.

Their names may ring a bell, and you may have already heard or seen their work. Check out their profiles to learn about their impressive work, the experiences that drew them into public media and their advice for helping early-career staffers thrive.

Rising Stars, Current’s initiative recognizing public media’s up-and-coming talents, received more than 160 nominations this year. The panel of judges who helped select the honorees included:

• Rawan Elbaba of PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs
• Tamberly Ferguson of WDAV in Davidson, N.C.
• Adriana Gonzalez of Houston Public Media
• Andrew Leitch of Greater Public
• Hilary Kissinger of WHYY in Philadelphia
• Erin McGregor of the Association of Independents in Radio
• J.R Rudolph of WFYI in Indianapolis
• Brisa Siegel of Classical California

Our thanks to each of them for their time and insights.

Congratulations to the 2025 class of Rising Stars. Keep shining bright! — Karen Everhart, interim executive director