Comings and goings: NPR promotes development execs, former PBS fundraising leader announces retirement …

NPR promoted two development staff to executive leadership positions.

Julie Parr became SVP of development. Since joining NPR in 2023 as VP of development, she also served as interim leader of NPR’s development team.

Parr previously worked as senior director of development for the Yale School of Medicine and was CDO for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. In her new SVP role, Parr will continue working with the NPR Foundation and lead teams responsible for major gifts, institutional giving, planned giving and donor communications.

Elyse Poinsett stepped up to VP of digital revenue and operations from her previous role as executive director of digital philanthropy. Poinsett joined the marketing team in 2020. Her earlier jobs include director of marketing strategy and senior director of digital philanthropy. Before joining NPR, Poinsett directed marketing and brand management for WHYY in Philadelphia.

“Julie and Elyse have both demonstrated outstanding leadership and they have each been integral to our phenomenal success growing donor support through an especially critical period for our organization and our Network,” said NPR CDO Rachel Evans in a news release.

Deirdre Gabriel, former director of fundraising programming for PBS, is retiring.

On LinkedIn, Gabriel said she was laid off from her role at PBS last fall. “In an instant, my 32-year career in public media … came to an unexpected close,” she said. “This transition has required time and space to process what had been a defining part of my professional life. … I had been planning for early retirement in late 2026, so while the timing shifted, the destination did not.”

Gabriel began her public media career in 1993 at VPM in Richmond, Va., where she worked as membership manager. She had two separate stints working for PBS. From 2000–10, she was assistant director of on-air fundraising and development services. She returned in 2014 in the director role.

“As I step into retirement, I remain open to selective freelance opportunities with PBS stations, including on-air fundraising talent, script writing, and editing support, and would be happy to reconnect with anyone who could use an extra set of experienced hands,” Gabriel said. “I’m grateful for the journey, proud of the work, and wish continued strength and success to my colleagues navigating this challenging moment for public media.”

Two employees left KPBS in San Diego.

Terence Shepherd, news director since 2022, and Lois Hoyt, director of people and culture, no longer work at the station.

Shepherd joined KPBS in 2022 after directing news at WLRN in Miami. He could not be reached for comment. Vinnee Tong, the managing editor, became interim news director.

Hoyt, who joined KPBS in 2024, declined to comment in a message to Current on LinkedIn. The station will not immediately recruit a replacement for Hoyt as it reassesses its organizational needs, according to Heather Milne Barger, KPBS spokesperson.

“Staff changes are inevitable in the regular course of doing business,” Milne Barger said in a statement to Current. “Having two unrelated departures on the same day is rare. KPBS has been fortunate to have some staff stay with us for decades and some that were only with us for a short time but made a great impact.”

Management

Tom Agbugui was promoted to director of digital platforms for Detroit PBS. He joined the station in 2022 as digital platforms manager after holding marketing positions for GDI Infotech and InfoReady, both based in Ann Arbor, Mich. “I joined the station about 4 years ago and it’s been a very fulfilling journey for me ever since,” Agbugui said on LinkedIn. “On a personal note, I’m also glad I’ve been able to play my part in serving our local community with entertaining & educational programming. Public media will always be necessary and important, especially right now, and I’m glad I get to continue the great work we do in this new role.”

Content

Alex Crichton, host of All Things Considered for WXXI Public Media in Rochester, N.Y., is retiring. Crichton joined WXXI in 1984 as a jazz disc jockey. In 1997, he became the local host of Morning Edition; he started hosting All Things Considered in 2012. Crichton got his start in radio as a part-time disc jockey at WGMC in Greece, where he played a mix of jazz and contemporary pop music. He also worked for commercial stations in Rochester and Buffalo, N.Y. Crichton’s last day is Friday.

Mike McKay, a morning host for WDAV in Davidson, N.C., is retiring. McKay joined the classical music station in 1997 after working for WBTV, a CBS affiliate in Charlotte, N.C., as a weather anchor and entertainment editor from 1967–95. “Mike leaves an extraordinary legacy as a professional in our region’s broadcasting sphere, and we have been so lucky to have him sharing his enthusiasm for classical music with listeners for nearly 30 years,” said Frank Dominguez, WDAV GM and a host for the station.

Matthew Bell, an editor for The World, co-produced by PRX and GBH in Boston, is leaving for a new job as editor of the Christian Science Monitor. Bell joined The World in 2001 and has also been a Middle East correspondent. Before that, he worked as a reporter and producer for Pacific Time, produced by KQED in San Francisco. “It’s been a hell of a run. I’m so damn lucky to have worked with the absolute best people in the broadcast journalism business,” he said on LinkedIn. “You all rule. Thanks a million.”

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