New York Public Radio President Laura Walker to Step Down

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Laura A. Walker

New York Public Radio President/CEO Laura R. Walker will step down at the beginning of 2019 after 26 years in the post. She'll relinquish CEO duties at the end of March, 2019 and remain through June to assist with the transition. In a memo to her staff, Walker said she and the board agreed "that the time has come for me to move on." Walker plans to pursue other opportunities including a university position and possible starting her own venture.

"It is truly overwhelming to write these words. But I have the comfort of knowing I leave NYPR with the most talented and creative team that I could ever imagine," Walker wrote.

Under her leadership, Walker grew NYPR frow municipal radio station owned by the city that reached one million people a month to an independent nonprofit with eight radio stations and 18 nationally distributed programs & podcasts reaching an audience of 26 million monthly.

"Leading New York Public Radio over the last two decades has been the honor of my lifetime," Walker wrote. "I am leaving NYPR well-positioned to continue to do groundbreaking multiplatform journalism and music programming for listeners of diverse backgrounds, in New York, across the country and around the globe."

"Laura Walker took New York Public Radio from its modest beginnings as an independent startup to the internationally recognized audio and journalism leader it is today," said board of trustees Chair Mayo Stuntz. "The board of trustees will lead a national search for NYPR's next leader, who can build on Laura's legacy of innovation and service, continue to advance our mission and forge our next, exciting chapter."

Walker's total compensation was $954,582 in 2016, the most recent year available. Her contract expires in June.