KBOO has new managers…Yes, two!
Monica Beemer and Mic Crenshaw, two very well-known local non-profit leaders begin their stewardship at KBOO later this month. They’ll share the duties of Station Manager.
Monica plans to focus on KBOO’s financial well-being while Mic looks forward to working closely with personnel — both paid staff and volunteer programmers. In a joint statement, the two expressed eagerness at the prospect of team management: “We would each hold responsibility for parts of the position that best utilized our strengths, skills and interests and support each other in fulfilling those parts.”
Monica Beemer has served as Executive Director at Sisters of The Road Cafe since 2005, calling on her organizational and fundraising skills to help transform a once-struggling community kitchen and gathering space into one of the most visible, effective and respected non-profit organizations in Portland. By introducing a collective management structure at Sisters, Monica recently moved to eliminate her own position. “We’re not a charity model,” Monica told Yes Magazine in 2010, “We’re a community organizing model.”
The slogan “Think Globally, Act Locally” can be liberally applied to Mic Crenshaw, a well-known community organizer, political activist, and hip-hop artist. In his role as Executive Director of Education Without Borders, Mic has built and strengthened networks between local artists and international human rights activists, establishing education, music and art initiatives in Portland and beyond.
KBOO’s Station Manager Hiring Committee recommended the co-manager arrangement to the KBOO Board of Directors at its January 27 meeting, and the proposal was approved by unanimous vote. Mic and Monica were selected from a field of approximately 70 applicants, which included Harvard Law School graduates as well as leaders in the local non-profit, business, and media communities.
Victoria Stoppiello, who has served as Interim Station Manager since October 8, said that she is familiarizing Crenshaw and Beemer with the workings of the station during KBOO’s upcoming winter membership drive, which runs from February 6th through 15th. Stoppiello’s third stint at KBOO management will end March 1.
“A few people outside the station have commented to me that they thought a management job-share was crazy,” Victoria said. “My response is that it isn't crazy, just innovative. I’ve been working with Mic and Monica for only a few days, and I’ve found them to be warm, straightforward, and great comunicators. KBOO is so fortunate to have them step into this role.”
See what The Skanner has to say about KBOO's new leadership.