PITTSTON, PA – October 24, 2023- WVIA’s Senior Director of Grants and Education, Vicki Austin, has been selected as a fellow for the Public Media Women in Leadership CEO/COO Bootcamp.
The Public Media CEO/COO Boot Camp is an intensive, six-month program for three classes of fellows over three years. The expected outcome of the program is to expose CEO/COO candidates to the core concepts, players, and resources in key verticals so that they have confidence and knowledge to apply for these positions.
The key verticals consist of Content & Mission, Sustainability, Finance & HR, Audience Development & Local Service/Branding, Digital/Tech/Data, The Public Media Universe, and Embracing Change & Inclusion in Leadership.
“I have been a consumer of public media my entire life and over the last decade I have felt the necessity of our service to the community more than ever,” said Vicki Austin. “I genuinely feel I have found the place I am meant to be professionally and am grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this amazing cohort.”
Many industries are lacking in training, and it is particularly rare to find training in leadership skills to help prepare potential rising stars to fill these complex and demanding roles. Those that wish to ascend to the ranks of CEO or COO often face challenges in gathering the experience necessary to succeed in these roles. This bootcamp not only offers extensive training for these candidates, it focuses on women, gender expansive individuals, and men of color.
According to Forbes, women account for 41.9% of the workforce in 2023, but the proportion of women in senior leadership roles has dropped by 10% down to 32.2%.
Women make up the majority of WVIA’s senior leadership, and WVIA has a long track record of promoting and encouraging diversity and inclusion, not only in their own workplace, but in our communities as a whole.
“This was an extremely competitive application, and I am so proud to see Vicki receive this recognition,” said WVIA President & CEO, Carla McCabe. “WVIA is truly lucky to have Vicki Austin. Her dedication to WVIA and to public media shines through in everything she does, and we are confident in our ability to continue to stay true to our mission with her helping forge the way.”
In her role as Senior Director of Grants and Education for WVIA, Vicki oversees department budgets, goals, strategic planning, and staffing. She is responsible for the vision and execution of local, regional, state, and national foundation support for WVIA.
Vicki designs and supervises 20+ robust educational programs (including the Public Media Award-winning Careers that Work/Carreras que funcionan) within WVIA’s 22-county region. WVIA implements initiatives in 45 of the 60 school districts in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania. Vicki established the first WVIA Education Bilingual Advisory Board, now in its second year. Vicki’s growth of foundation income for WVIA in the last year has allowed WVIA Education to expand its regional footprint and WVIA News to double the size of its team of journalists.
As a current member of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Workforce Leadership Academy, Vicki is an Aspen Institute Economic Opportunity Fellow and is working with other local and national workforce-development leaders to deepen networks, intentionally apply systems change and equity frameworks, and expand knowledge of effective tools and programs.
Additional details about Vicki Austin and the fellowship can be found here.
About Public Media Women In Leadership
Public Media Women in Leadership was founded in January 2015 by Deanna Mackey and Jeannie Ericson to provide a forum for women leaders and aspiring leaders to support and learn from each other, provide training and mentorship opportunities, build community and advocate for women leadership within public media.
About WVIA
WVIA is the PBS and NPR affiliate serving over 22 counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. For over 50 years WVIA has been committed to serving the people by offering informational, educational, and entertaining content that enriches and expands viewpoints and serves as a catalyst for positive change. WVIA television channels include WVIA TV, WVIA PBS Kids 24/7, and WVIA Create. WVIA’s radio channels include WVIA Radio, WVIA HD2, and the Chiaroscuro Channel. WVIA’s programs can also be found streaming live and on-demand on wvia.org and the WVIA app.
WVIA Mission
WVIA educates, inspires, entertains and fosters citizenship, diverse cultures, and perspectives to nurture community.