Public Media Program Directors Appoints Jody Evans as CEO

The Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD) has announced the appointment of Jody Evans as its new President and CEO, effective January 1, 2015. PRPD is a vital membership organization that advocates for high quality programming and provides resources for public radio programming directors nationwide.

In making the announcement, Board Chair Tamar Charney cited Evans’ ‘track record in content creation, fundraising, fiscal management, and working with stakeholders’ as critical factors in the selection, and echoed Evan’s sentiment that PRPD be ‘part of and possibly ignite a national dialogue about what we do and how we are going to move forward’ at this time of dynamic change in the media industry.

Jody Evans will join PRPD from her current role as President and CEO of Western North Carolina Public Radio, which operates WCQS-FM in Asheville. At WCQS she is credited with effecting a financial turnaround in collaboration with the station’s Board and community leaders. A programming executive by background, she established herself as an innovator over 10 years at Vermont Public Radio, and subsequently at KUT in Austin, TX. Jody is known as an active and energetic presence in the industry, and served on the PRPD Board from 2005-2009.

With this leadership transition, Arthur Cohen will retire after 8 years as President, and PRPD’s office will relocate from upstate New York to Asheville, North Carolina.

This search process was led by Cara Erickson of media executive search firm NewCoordinates, LLC, in partnership with the PRPD Board.