[grc] GRC friends, Good news

Tue May 26 09:37:00 PDT 2020

Congrats to Sonya, Lisa, and the whole Making Contact team for a stellar new chapter in the making!!!!

Amoshaun 

Sent from a poorly designed mobile device

> On May 26, 2020, at 7:09 AM, Lisa Rudman via grc <grc at maillist.peak.org> wrote:
> 
> 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
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