Comings and goings: Public Media Infrastructure announces board, VPM hires CFO …

Public Media Infrastructure announced its inaugural board leadership.

Public Media Infrastructure, formed last year with support from a CPB grant, is an independent nonprofit established by American Public Media Group, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, New York Public Radio, PRX and the Station Resource Group.

LaFontaine Oliver, executive chair and former CEO of New York Public Radio, will lead the PMI board as chair. Oliver joined NYPR in 2023 and previously led public radio stations in Baltimore and Orlando, Fla. He was on NPR’s board of directors from 2016–22 and was its chair from 2020–22.

The other station leaders joining PMI’s board are:

• Anni Caporuscio, executive director of KKCR in Hanalei, Hawaii; 
• Mariana Robertson, GM of KCAW Raven Radio in Sitka, Alaska;
• José Martínez-Saldaña, co-executive director of Radio Bilingüe in Fresno, Calif.;
• Vijay Singh, CEO of Vermont Public; and
• Kenya Young, CEO of Louisville Public Media in Kentucky

The new board members will be seated at PMI’s April board meeting. Additional members will be seated later this year, according to a news release.

“Our board strives to reflect the full breadth of who public media actually is—across station formats and in every type of community across the nation, large and small, rural and urban, legacy and emerging,” said A. Rima Dael, CEO of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and a founding PMI board member, in the release. “These leaders bring deep, lived experience from stations serving communities every day, and a clear understanding of both the fragility and the power of public media infrastructure. That range of perspective is exactly what PMI was created to hold and to protect.”

“I’m grateful to CPB for the vision and foresight to invest in this station-centered consortium, as we work to imagine the future of our system, and put muscle into the project of building it,” Oliver said in the release. “The tie that binds this country’s incredible tapestry of public radio stations is our commitment to public service—through the vital news, information, education, arts, culture, and connection we provide our communities every day. I’m honored that my fellow founding partners have entrusted me to help lay PMI’s foundations as Chair of the Board, and energized to be stepping into this new role.”

Ed Brown was hired as CFO for VPM in Richmond, Va.

Brown succeeds Gary Ometer, who left the station in July to become VP of business affairs and finance for Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

Brown previously worked as CFO for St. Vincent de Paul Baltimore, a Catholic charity, where he managed a $40 million budget. Before that, he was COO/CFO at Elev8 Baltimore and held senior roles at JLL and TIAA.

In a news release, VPM CEO Jayme Swain said Brown’s “extensive experience in nonprofit and corporate finance will enhance our ability to steward our resources strategically and ensure long‑term sustainability in a rapidly evolving media landscape. Ed joins VPM at a critical time as we prepare to move into our new headquarters in downtown Richmond. His leadership will be instrumental as we continue to innovate and reimagine the future of public media.”

Two staffers will retire from WEMU in Ypsilanti, Mich., June 30.

David Fair joined the station in 1994 as a part-time All Things Considered host. He soon became Morning Edition host and took on the role of news director in 2012.

“The seasons change, and so do I,” Fair said in a news release. “I love being a part of this community and, through WEMU, consider it a privilege to have interacted and engaged in meaningful ways for over three decades. But, getting up in the middle of the night for nearly 32 years can take a toll. I plan to remain involved and accessible and, if asked, will gladly support WEMU and its service to the community in any way I can. There’s an old Hasidic saying: ‘For the unlearned, old age is winter. For the learned, it is the season of harvest.’ It feels like a good time to reap what I have sown.”

Michael Jewett, senior music announcer and operations manager, will also retire. He joined the station in 1983 and hosts several jazz and blues shows.

“I’ve been on the air since the deepest, darkest 80’s! That’s a long time!” Jewett said in the release. “I’ve reached an age and point where I need to create some more space for things in my life besides work. I’ll always be a member of Team WEMU. I look forward to being involved with the station, just in a diminished role.”

A longtime host will retire from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Norman Gilliland, a classical music host who has worked for the station since 1984, will host his final broadcast of Midday Classics June 19.

In addition to music hosting, Gilliland also co-hosted University of the Air, a program featuring academics and researchers from the University of Wisconsin. He also created and hosted Old Time Radio Drama, works as an editor of Chapter a Day, and hosts University Place Presents for PBS Wisconsin.

“As Norman retires, we celebrate and honor a great career in public radio,” WPR Director Sarah Ashworth said in a news release. “It has been a personal pleasure to get to work alongside Norman and learn so much about classical music, its performers and its creators each day on his program. As WPR has expanded our classical music programming to serve the entire state, Norman’s engaging personality and relationships with Wisconsin classical musicians have been an important part of growing the audience for this service.”

Content

New York Public Radio hired Michael Sol Warren as a New Jersey reporter for its breaking news desk. Warren most recently worked as a producer for NJ Spotlight News, overseen by the WNET Group in New York. He has also worked for NJ Advance Media’s NJ.com and Star-Ledger, first as a general assignment features reporter and later as an environment and outdoors reporter.

Diane Mack, Morning Edition host for WWNO in New Orleans, is retiring. Mack’s last day will be March 20. “My time at WWNO has been such a rewarding experience,” she said in a news release. “I’ve learned so much from the people I’ve interviewed through the years, and our listeners have been like an extended family. As much as I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life, it is also a little bittersweet to leave.” Mack joined WWNO as a part-time employee in 1991 and hosted news programs, a classical music show and the Friends of Music concert series. She became a full-time employee in 1993. In addition to hosting Morning Edition, she was a producer for Inside the Arts and is a contributor and producer for Louisiana Considered.

Finance

Lencia Ductan was promoted to controller for VPM in Richmond, Va. Ductan joined the station in 2023 as an accountant. Before that, she worked for Capital One, first as an underwriter and later as an accountant.

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