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June 18, 2008 | 65°F Clear sky

People at WNYC

President's Bio

Laura Walker

Laura Walker

President & Chief Executive Officer of WNYC Radio

Laura R. Walker is President and Chief Executive Officer of New York Public Radio. Heard by over 1.2 million listeners each week, WNYC radio is the largest public radio station in the country and is dedicated to producing broadcasting which extends New York City’s cultural riches to public radio stations nationwide.

Under Ms. Walker’s direction, WNYC Radio raised the $20 million necessary to purchase its licenses from the former owner, the City of New York. Through this independence, she transformed the station from a city agency into a not-for-profit broadcaster, and allowed the station to grow dramatically. During Ms. Walker’s ten-year tenure, WNYC Radio has achieved the rank of the #1 radio station in Manhattan. WNYC is now engaged in a $57.5 million capital campaign to finance the station’s move to new headquarters at 160 Varick Street and to fund new programming initiatives.

Following independence, Ms. Walker spearheaded many new programming initiatives, including the expansion of WNYC's news and documentary units, extended live concert programming, the introduction of American standards host Jonathan Schwartz, and the creation of new national programs Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, The Next Big Thing, and Radio Lab. Under her leadership, the national program On the Media was successfully re-launched, and went on to win, along with Studio 360 and Radio Rookies, WNYC’s youth journalism program, a Peabody Award, broadcasting’s most prestigious honor. WNYC produces more than 100 hours of original programming per week for radio transmission and has been a pioneer in webcasting and podcasting through WNYC.org. She has been honored with Public Radio International’s Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Wesleyan University.

Ms. Walker began her professional career as a journalist and producer at National Public Radio, where she received a prestigious Peabody Award for Broadcast Excellence. In 1983 she joined the staff of Carnegie Hall where she launched the award-winning series, AT&T; Presents Carnegie Hall Tonight. She joined the Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop) in 1987, where for eight years helped launch the acclaimed children’s television series, Ghost Writer, lead the organization's efforts to establish a cable television channel (now Noggin), and headed the development efforts to fund these initiatives as well as other priorities of the organization. In addition to the WNYC Board of Trustees, Ms. Walker sits on the Board of Advisors for the Yale School of Management and the Yale Center for Customer Insights, as well as the Board of Directors for Public Radio International, The Educational Development Center and Saint Ann’s School.

Ms. Walker holds an MBA from Yale University School of Management and a B.A. in History from Wesleyan University. She resides in Brooklyn Heights with her husband, Bert Wells, teenage son, and daughter.


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