Name Laura Walker | Education Wesleyan University | |
Profiles | ||
Laura Ruth Walker (born November 19, 1957) is President and CEO of New York Public Radio, a nonprofit media organization that operates WNYC-FM, WNYC-AM, WQXR-FM, the four stations of New Jersey Public Radio, and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. The organization produces The Brian Lehrer Show, Carnegie Hall Live, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Freakonomics Radio, Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin , The Leonard Lopate Show, The McGraw Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase, On The Media, Radiolab, Radio Rookies, Spinning On Air, Soundcheck, Studio 360 and The Takeaway, and other programming and content that reaches an average of 11.5 million people each month.
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Early life
A native New Yorker, Walker grew up in Westchester County. She graduated with a BA in History, magna cum laude, from Wesleyan University and earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management in 1987.
Career
Walker began her professional career as a journalist and producer at National Public Radio, where she received a Peabody Award for Broadcast Excellence. In 1983 she joined the staff of Carnegie Hall, where she launched AT&T Presents Carnegie Hall Tonight. She joined the Sesame Workshop (formerly Children’s Television Workshop) in 1987, where for eight years she worked on programming and development initiatives, and led the organization’s efforts to establish a cable television channel (now Noggin).
She joined WNYC in 1996 to oversee its transformation from a city-owned agency into an independent non-profit. Her first assignment was to raise the $20 million necessary to purchase WNYC’s licenses from the City of New York. Walker oversaw New York Public Radio’s subsequent $62.9 million capital campaign to finance its new headquarters on Varick Street in New York and to fund programming initiatives. The new headquarters includes The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, a street-level, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance venue. In 2009, WNYC acquired the classical music station WQXR from The New York Times Company.
In September 2009, Walker was named one of New York City’s Most Powerful Women by Crain’s New York Business. In October 2008, The Executive Council honored her with a NY Ten Award in the category of Best Media Executive. In July 2008, Walker was recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In March 2012, the New York Choral Society honored Walker with the Distinguished Service to Music Award. Walker sits on the boards of the Women’s Forum, Inc. and the Yale Center for Customer Insights, and she is the Chair of the Hudson Square Business Improvement District and the Station Resource Group.