The WFAE Board of Directors announced Tuesday that Ju-Don E. Marshall has been named the organization’s new president and chief executive officer. A six-year veteran at WFAE, Marshall was most recently its executive vice president and chief content officer.
Marshall brings a rare depth and breadth of experience in journalism and organizational leadership to her new role, having held editorial and executive positions across a wide range of national and local media platforms. She is a recipient of Harvard University’s prestigious Nieman Fellowship and formerly held several roles with The Washington Post, most recently as Managing Editor of Washington Post Digital.
At WFAE, Marshall helped lead ongoing innovation and expansion of the newsroom and editorial content. This includes the introduction of added on-air and online award-winning coverage, highly successful podcasts, and topic-focused newsletters.
Marshall, the first person of color to lead WFAE, succeeds former CEO Joe O’Connor, who stepped down earlier this spring after leading the station through seven years of ongoing improvements and innovation. Together, Marshall and O’Connor broadened the organization’s revenue base and value to its underwriters.
After concentrating most of her recent energy on news, Marshall said she looks forward to continuing to coach and develop WFAE staffers across functions and at every level of the organization.
“I believe in setting people up for success,” she said. “I think of WFAE as small but mighty. As our country experiences ongoing decline in local news outlets and coverage, I am proud of how we are helping our listeners and readers get the information they need to be better citizens. That is the role of public media — to pull more people in rather than push them out. The stronger WFAE is as a trusted news platform, the better our city and region will be.”
Marshall’s efforts, including her development of an innovative “Race and Equity Desk’’ of community-based reporters, have drawn plaudits from media watchers across the country.