LABF Elects Parenti & Denes as New Co-Chairs for 2026

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, November 17, 2025 | 10:10am CT

Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF)

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has elected Deborah Parenti and Dave "Chachi" Denes as its new Co-Chairs, succeeding outgoing leaders Heidi Raphael and Jack Goodman. Their five-year term will begin on January 1, 2026.

Raphael, Chief Communications Officer at Beasley Media Group, and Goodman, a longtime Washington, DC communications attorney, praised the incoming leadership, noting that Parenti and Denes bring the vision and passion needed to advance the Foundation's mission of preserving broadcasting's history and inspiring future generations.

Parenti, a LABF Board member since 2021, is a pioneering broadcast executive with an extensive leadership resume across sales, marketing, research, and station management. She was the first female General Manager in Dayton, OH, where she led WWSN-FM, later overseeing clusters in Dayton and Philadelphia for American Radio Systems. In 2007, she became Publisher of Radio Ink and Radio Television Business Report. Her industry contributions have earned honors from the Broadcasters Foundation of America and the Dayton Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and she was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2023.

Denes, who also joined the Board in 2021 and currently serves on the Executive Committee, is President and Co-Founder of Benztown, an international leader in radio imaging, production libraries, jingles, voiceover, and podcast services. Under his leadership, Benztown has amassed more than 2,900 affiliations globally and earned repeated industry accolades. Earlier in his career, Denes held programming and management posts at KBIG and KOST in Los Angeles and later worked alongside Rick Dees at KIIS-FM.

The LABF also announced multiple Board updates. Hope Media Group President Tim Dukes and Entravision President and CEO Jeff Liberman have been elected to the Board of Directors. The Foundation expressed its gratitude to longtime Board Chair Ginny Hubbard of Hubbard Radio, who will step down from the Executive Committee but remain on the Board, and recognized outgoing members Jeff Smulyan of Emmis and Dan Spears of BMI for their years of service.

Executive Committee members Heather Birks, Harry Jessell, Jim Morley, Heidi Raphael, Joyce Tudryn and Dennis Wharton were re-elected to additional two-year terms. Retired Katz Television President Leo MacCourtney will serve as the organization's Treasurer.

Board members elected to new three-year terms include Sally Brown, April Carty-Sipp, John Dille, Jack Goodman, Patricia Smullin and John Taylor.

Other current board members include Sam Bush, Pierre Bouvard, Sally Brown, Mike Carter, Gary Chapman, Chandra Clark, Heather Cohen, Tony Coles, Dr. Mike Conway, John Dille, Erica Farber, Dr. Caroline Frick, Kathleen Kirby, David Kennedy, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Leo MacCourtney, Jim Morley, Ernesto Mourelo, Brian Phillips, Mike McVay, Walter Podrazik and Julie Talbott.