[grc] GRC friends, Good news

[Lisa Rudman]

Dear GRC colleagues I'm forwarding Making Contact's good news below:


###

Amidst the pandemic news we have some *good news:*


*In the announcement below, you’ll see that Sonya Green will become our new
Executive Director! * She is mission aligned with Making Contact and has
strong work experience in community and public radio stations --*like you! *

Making Contact’s weekly episodes will be reliably released as always. You
can look forward to more COVID-19 UnVeils episodes along with other topics
in our upcoming weekly 29-minute shows. (Intersectionality!)

Please participate with Sonya, core producers Monica Lopez, Anita Johnson,
Salima Hamirani, and all our freelance producers and podcast partners:



   -

   Pitch us your hottest interviews and sound rich feature stories. We love
   working with stations on segments.
   -

   Increase your feedback and become a thought partner for Sonya and the
   team at distrib at radioproject.org or respond to the survey you got a few
   months ago.
   -

   Thank you for those of you who are broadcasting Making Contact!


We’re working hard to sustain our four employees amidst the pandemic; for
the last months we've been building a financial on-ramp for our new ED, so
hopefully we're gonna stay strong. We know your station is adjusting too.


It’s been inspiring to us to see how stations are pivoting, but yes, it's
challenging. *We appreciate the role you play in your communities, let us
know how to help! *

So here’s to the future, with a big thanks to Lisa Rudman who initiated
this care-full succession process after serving the organization thru thick
and thin, and a hearty congrats to our new leader, Sonya Green!


Sincerely,

the Making Contact board and staff

P.S. You can make a special donation honoring Lisa Rudman or welcoming
Sonya Green online HERE
<https://makingcontact.networkforgood.com/projects/39193-making-contact-year-round>
or
via mail at International Media Project /Making Contact 1714 Franklin St.
Oakland, CA 94612

###


Announcement:

Making Contact Welcomes Our New Executive Director: Sonya Green

We are pleased to announce that Sonya Green will be the new executive
director of International Media Project, which produces the award-winning
weekly radio program and podcast Making Contact
<https://www.radioproject.org/>.

Sonya is an award-winning journalist and community media leader committed
to telling the stories of historically excluded communities. She has always
worked towards creating a just, healthy, and equitable society.

Sonya has recently received her Masters of Science in Organizational
Leadership from Mercer University with a thesis focusing on the experiences
of journalists of color receiving fellowships,  “Inclusion in Fellowships
But Exclusion In The Industry?”.

Sonya was awarded the prestigious Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship from
the University of Michigan, where she researched how language, attitudes
and approaches in journalism narratives can perpetuate stereotypes about
race, class and identity.

Sonya has served as Engagement Coordinator at the Center for Collaborative
Journalism at Mercer University, as News Director and Interim Assistant
General Manager at 91.3 KBCS in Bellevue/Seattle WA, and as a news producer
at ABC affiliate television stations in Seattle and Denver.  Sonya serves
as the Board President for the National Federation of Community
Broadcasters.

Sonya succeeds Lisa Rudman, who led the organization for seventeen years
following in the steps of Peggy Law and her co-founders Norman Solomon and
David Barsamian. Lisa grew Making Contact from a radio program into a
stalwart organization of social justice journalism and training.

Lisa expanded the program’s reach to new audiences, increased the
organization’s funding base, forged collaborative partnerships with
community groups and media outlets, and established paid community
storytelling fellowships, while building a staff and freelancer pool
representative of the diverse communities that Making Contact serves.

Lisa has chosen to pass the administrative baton to a new leader and to
concentrate on her true love, media production. She’ll continue to assist
in fundraising and production to support Sonya and the core producers,
Monica Lopez, Anita Johnson, and Salima Hamirani.

During 2019, Making Contact’s board of directors crafted a leadership
succession plan that includes Lisa providing assistance to Sonya for her
first six months. Sonya officially starts June 8th and we look forward to
virtual gatherings (and hopefully some in person too), where you’ll have
the pleasure of meeting her.

Lisa says, “This is a key moment in Making Contact’s leadership succession
planning, and a critical moment in our society at large. I’m delighted to
support Sonya and her vision to expand Making Contact’s resources for our
talented journalists who focus on stories of justice and liberation.”

“Sonya brings us a dynamic combination of skills and experience,” says
board chair Mickey Ellinger. ”She is committed to Making Contact’s mission
of highlighting voices from movements that are working for justice in
underrepresented communities. She has years of experience as a radio
journalist and working with national media organizations. And she has just
completed a graduate degree in organizational leadership. We are excited to
work with her.”

*Sonya says, ““I am truly honored for the opportunity to lead Making
Contact. More than ever, independent grassroots media like Making Contact
are essential and needed to center the narratives of historically excluded
communities underserved by mainstream media, particularly people—and
especially women--of color, immigrants and LGBTQ identified people. I look
forward to connecting and working with everyone who values
this organization. Thank you for your support!” *

-----------------------------

Making Contact’s programs are aired on 151 community radio stations
throughout the United States, Canada and Australia, on internet sites
including www.radioproject.org  <http://www.radioproject.org/>and as a
podcast. Making Contact’s programs have been consistently honored by the
Society for Professional Journalists.

In this COVID-19 era Making Contact has been producing *Covid-19 UnVeils*:
a series of programs that explore the impact upon homeless communities,
immigrant farm workers, prisoners, gig workers and delivery drivers. *Covid-19
UnVeils* exposes the root causes of the inequity and racial disparity in
the pandemic's victims as well as the community organizing and mutual aid
efforts arising within the crisis.

Thanks to your generous donations, we’ve grown so much in 25 years. Now,
come along with us into this new era!

Mickey Ellinger, Board of Directors

mickeye at igc.org



Lisa Rudman, Executive Director 2003-2020

lrudman at radioproject.org

Sonya Green, Executive Director
Sonya at radioproject.org