Comings and goings: Alaska Public Media names COO, WXXI hires CCO …

Alaska Public Media promoted Linda Wei to COO and SVP of content.

Wei joined the station in 2019 as CCO and has also been EP for local programs Alaska Insight, Indie Alaska, Talk of Alaska and Line One: Your Health Connection. Wei is also co-lead and manager of the station’s community advisory board.

She previously worked for Nashville PBS from 2003–18, her highest position being director of digital strategies. Her first job in public media was with Louisiana Public Broadcasting as a volunteer and later as a production and research assistant.

From 2015–19 Wei was chair of the PBS Digital Media Advisory Council. She has also been vice chair of the PBS Programming Advisory Council and a board member for the Independent Television Service. She is co-founder of Executive Content Managers, which includes a group of public media CCOs.

“Despite current funding challenges, I know she will be the solutions-based operations executive AKPM needs right now as we recommit and reorganize to provide the best public media service for Alaskans,” said CEO Ed Ulman in a news release.

Julio Sáenz was hired as CCO of WXXI Public Media in Rochester, N.Y.

Sáenz is the founder of ConXion, a bilingual Latino publication. He also launched Poder 97.1 FM, a Latin radio station, and has been GM of Mundo Hispánico at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In Rochester, he has worked in communications for MVP Health Care, Common Ground Health and the Ibero-American Action League. He also teaches in the school of communications for the Rochester Institute of Technology and was on WXXI’s board.

“Yes, we are facing difficult headwinds after the federal cuts to public media but WXXI is choosing to meet this moment with purpose,” said WXXI CEO Christopher Hastings in a news release. “Hiring Julio is an investment in our future. His deep roots in Rochester, combined with his extraordinary talent and entrepreneurial spirit, make him the right leader to help us reimagine what local public media can be: hyperlocal, representative, and in service to the communities we call home.”

Jeneissy Azcuy was promoted to chief marketing and education officer for South Florida PBS.

Azcuy joined the station in 2015 as director of corporate communications and has also been a senior director and VP. Her most recent title at the station was SVP of marketing, communications and education outreach.

Before joining SFPBS, she was a communications director for WLRN in Miami and an English teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

KUT Public Media in Austin, Texas, promoted Corrie MacLaggan to executive editor for KUT News and The Texas Newsroom statewide collaboration.

MacLaggan joined The Texas Newsroom in 2021 as statewide managing editor. Before that, she worked for The Texas Tribune as a demographics reporter, news editor and managing editor. She has also been a national correspondent for Reuters, a reporter for the Austin American-Statesman and an education reporter for the El Paso Times.

MacLaggan will start the new job Sept. 1.

Development

Cheri Marquart was hired as a music scheduling and air talent consultant for Paragon Media Strategies. Marquart previously worked as VP of programming for Westwood One and has also been an assistant PD and music director for KHIH and KMJI in Denver. “I’m thrilled to join Paragon Consulting, a team renowned for elevating brands and transforming media strategy,” Marquart said in a news release. “This opportunity allows me to bring decades of broadcast and marketing expertise to forward-thinking clients who are ready to grow, connect, and lead in new ways.”

Content

Toben Shelby was promoted to director of radio and audio services for Alaska Public Media. Shelby, who joined the station in 2021, most recently worked as FM operations manager. He previously worked as a reporter and producer for KFQD, a commercial radio station in Anchorage. “Under his leadership, we’ve streamlined much of our work behind the scenes. He also brought a discerning eye to our radio program and podcast, Outdoor Explorer, including onboarding a new host,” said Linda Wei, COO and SVP of content, in a news release. “I know our audio team will continue to thrive as he extends that editorial eye to our other programs and the KSKA schedule.”

Harmony Soleil was hired as PD for KNHC in Seattle, a noncommercial station run by students at Nathan Hale High School that airs dance music and public affairs programming. Soleil was a student music director at the station while attending the high school. Since 2005, as a professional employee she has been a host, instructor, social media manager, music director and assistant PD. She succeeds Ron Chatman, who retired in March after working for the station since 2022.

Carla Wills was hired as a community partnerships and training editor for New York Public Radio’s WNYC and Gothamist newsrooms. Wills previously worked as a manager of audio production for the National Geographic podcasts Overhead and Into the Depths. She has also been senior news producer for Democracy Now! and held several roles at WEAA in Baltimore, including senior producer for The Michael Eric Dyson Show, co-host of The Baltimore Blend and EP of news and public affairs.

Bira Vanara will lead Biraland, a 20-part video musical comedy series for Vermont Public. The series will feature original songs and explore humans’ relationship with nature. It is funded by the station’s Made Here Fund, which launched in 2022. Biraland is one of 10 projects funded by the initiative, which awarded a total of $100,000 to content creators from six counties across Vermont. “I grew up with PBS and NPR being regarded by my family as the preeminent sources of news and insight into everything from politics to culture and the arts,” Vanara said in a news release. “To have Biraland be presented by Vermont Public is, quite honestly, a privilege I never thought I’d be afforded, and I can’t think of an outlet I’d rather have my work be affiliated with.”

Send news of “comings and goings” to people@current.org

Correction: A previous version of this column incorrectly said Linda Wei was previously COO of Alaska Public Media. She was CCO.