Kristen Spalding named WERU GM

Kristen Spalding will take over as GM of WERU Community Radio in East Orland, Maine, next month, the station’s board announced Monday. 

She will succeed GM Matt Murphy, who plans to retire after 27 years at the station. 

Spalding previously worked in development for Bagaduce Music in Blue Hill, Maine. The nonprofit’s mission is to collect, preserve and lend printed music and promote musical knowledge and appreciation.  

WERU is “a reflection of who we are and what we strive to be, not just as people of this region, but as people of this very connected planet,” Spalding said in a press release. “I have no doubt that WERU will continue to be essential to our connectivity as a source of information, opportunity, and as a cultural nexus.”

“We are very excited to welcome Kristen Spalding as our next General Manager and we are confident that she will continue to build on Matt’s many successes expanding our listenership, building our robust pool of volunteer programmers, and securing the financial support from the people and communities we serve,” said Paul Anderson, president of WERU’s board, in the release.

Murphy, who announced his intention to retire earlier this year, described “the honor, privilege, and joy of serving as General Manager of WERU,” in a statement included in the release. “The time has come for me to pass the torch on to the next generation of leadership of this great organization.”