Comings and goings: RMPM hires chief experience officer, longtime Kansas Public Radio PD to retire …

Rocky Mountain Public Media in Denver hired Amber Payne as chief experience officer.

As part of her role, a new addition to the organization, Payne will lead content strategy for journalism, civic engagement, radio and programming teams.

Payne most recently worked as publisher and GM for The Emancipator, a multimedia digital magazine now operating under Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2021 and has also been managing editor of BET.com, EP of Teen Vogue and founder and managing editor of NBCBLK, an NBC News digital initiative.

“I’m honored to join Rocky Mountain Public Media at a moment when public media must lead with both trust and imagination,” Payne said in a news release. “From Rocky Mountain PBS to KUVO JAZZ and THE DROP 104.7, RMPM serves Colorado through trusted journalism, music, culture, and educational storytelling for kids and families. I believe audience engagement starts with listening — not just measuring — and with creating experiences that reflect people’s lived realities. I’m excited to help RMPM deepen connection, strengthen trust, and lead public media with purpose and intention.”

Darrell Brogdon, PD of Kansas Public Radio, will retire from the station.

Brogdon joined the station in 1982 and since 1996 has also hosted The Retro Cocktail Hour, a weekly music program. He will continue hosting the show and other programs and events. Jeff Watson, a classical music host, will take over for Brogdon as host of Film Music Friday in March. 

“43 years?!” Brogdon said in the news release. “It certainly doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. But, when I think back to all the talented folks with whom I’ve had the opportunity to work at Kansas Public Radio, I feel the passage of time. I’m forever grateful to have landed at KPR, and I look forward to continuing to contribute. … I may even fill in occasionally on-air!”

Development

Lily Herwald was hired as director of donor relations for Southern Oregon PBS. Herwald most recently worked as director of development and communications for Southern Oregon Friends of Hospice. She was GM of KCAW in Sitka, Alaska, from 1985–2004 and was a commissioner for the Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission from 2016–17.

Engagement

Brianna Lee was promoted to senior producer of community engagement at LAist in Los Angeles. Lee joined the organization in 2016 as associate editor of audience engagement and also worked as engagement producer for the higher education beat and for civics and democracy. “I really did think long and hard about taking this on, since my last role … was essentially a dream job I somehow manifested into reality. I was perfectly happy being ‘that lady who talks to people on the street about local elections and sometimes is on the radio’ and could have done it for many more years,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “But I like to think that leading the community engagement team at LAist isn’t so much a departure from that as an expansion … It’s about figuring out how to help people feel empowered to make decisions that affect their communities.”

Technology

Andy Gunn, former director of broadcast engineering for WAMU in Washington, D.C., was hired as director of project management and process engineering for Inrush Broadcast Services, an engineering-focused consultancy that works with commercial and public radio stations. Gunn worked for WAMU from 2018–24 until he took a career break to be a parent. “Inrush has earned a reputation for solving real-world broadcast problems with a pragmatic, service-first approach,” Gunn said in a news release. “I’m excited to help amplify our growth—tightening how projects move from idea to on-air, smoothing team coordination, and strengthening the processes that make support consistent. I’m looking forward to expanding this foundation while we expand our service to the industry.” Late last year, another former WAMU engineer, Rob Bertrand, joined Inrush as CEO.

Content

Jennifer Coombes joined Colorado Public Radio as morning editor. Coombes most recently worked as a contract social media creator and strategist for the Colorado Sun. Before that, she was managing digital editor for KUNC in Greeley, Colo. “I’m thrilled to join such a vibrant and energetic team where I can explore even more avenues in public media and jump in and help out wherever I am needed,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “They’ve already let me know that the morning editor is responsible for baking cookies on Thursdays (hazing at its best)! 😆”

Governance

America’s Public Television Stations announced the results of recent board elections that take effect March 2:

• Dolores Fernandez Alonso, CEO of South Florida PBS, was reelected chair.
• Adrienne Fairwell, CEO of South Carolina Educational Television, was reelected professional vice chair.
• Susan Reardon, lay trustee of PBS SoCal in Los Angeles, was elected lay vice chair and will succeed Garrett King, board president for Friends of OETA, the nonprofit that supports the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority.

 Newly elected trustees are:

• Andrew Batt, executive director and GM of Iowa PBS;
• Dana Elmquist, lay delegate of New Mexico PBS;
• Dan Griffith, lay delegate of Kentucky Educational Television; 
• Rick Schneider, CEO of Maine Public; and
• David Tang, lay delegate of WXXI Public Media in Rochester, N.Y.

Anthony Padgett, GM of WOSU Public Media in Columbus, Ohio, was reelected.

Separately, Dana Elmquist, CEO of Intempio and a community representative for the New Mexico PBS board, began his term Jan. 7, filling an unexpired term vacancy on the board.

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