NEPM Executive Action
• New England Public Media (NEPM) recently announced significant updates to its executive team, most notably that of John Sutton, NEPM’s interim Chief Content Officer, who has accepted the newly established position of Vice President of Content and Audience Strategy.
“In this pioneering role, John will develop the strategy and plan to make NEPM the indispensable guide to Western Mass.,” says Matt Abramovitz, President of NEPM. “After months of searching, John stood out because of his many years of strategic and programming consulting in the public radio system, as well as his experience in-house at NPR and Pittsburgh’s WESA. In his one-year role as interim CCO, John directly shaped the plan of NEPM’s format buildout, helped launch The Rundown with Carrie Saldo, and led initiatives like Hunger Awareness Week and the rollout of NEPM’s newest podcast, The Secrets We Keep, bringing together our content and marketing teams in new and promising ways.”
Pittsburgh native Sutton started his public media career in 1987 as NPR’s Head of On-Air Promotion and Fundraising. During his 10 years at NPR, he also led the network’s audience research department, sat on its programming strategies board, and founded the public radio’s On-air Fundraising Partnership. He started his own consulting business in 1997, and 2017, Sutton was named GM of Pittsburgh NPR affiliate WESA. He also served as VP of Audiences & Revenue for WESA’s parent organization, Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting.
Sutton’s elevation is just the latest of other recent NEPM executive moves: Rebeckah Egan was promoted to Sales Director; Ayu Suryawan has transitioned to Digital Producer for The Fabulous 413 and The Rundown with Carrie Saldo; Nirvani Williams joins the newsroom as a full-time reporter covering socio-economic disparities in western Massachusetts; Teresa Bendzinski joined the NEPM team in April as Major Gifts Officer; and NEPM welcomed Mandi Garfield as an account executive in May.
“We are very fortunate to welcome so many talented people to Team NEPM,” said Abramovitz. “I admire their diverse perspectives, deep experience, and clear dedication to our mission.”
