Maine Public has announced the appointment of Rick Schneider as President/CEO effective August 2.
Schneider joins the organization from the National Center of Family Philanthropy where he has served as Senior Vice President of Advancement since November 2018. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of WETA Washington DC’s TV and radio properties, President/CEO of WPBT-TV Miami and KNPB-TV Reno, and Station Manager of WUFT-TV Gainesville FL where he rose from a reporter to anchor and news director.
Schneider fills the opening created by the retirement of Mark Vogelzang last month. Maine Public operates statewide Public News/Talk, Classical and television networks.
Maine Public announces the selection of Rick Schneider as the network’s new President and CEO. He will begin his new position on August 2.
Schneider is an experienced public media leader who served as chief operating officer for WETA, the PBS station and classical music radio station for Greater Washington, from 2013 to 2017. He helped implement the 2014 acquisition of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and was named the first president of NewsHour Productions, WETA’s LLC with oversight of PBS NewsHour.
He was previously president and CEO of WPBT in Miami and KNPB in Reno. He started his career as a broadcast news reporter and anchor before moving to news director and then station manager of WUFT-TV in Gainesville, Florida.
“Rick’s extensive background in public broadcasting and journalism make him the right choice for Maine Public’s next president and CEO,” stated Marion Freeman, the Chair of Maine Public’s Board of Trustees. “He has the experience and vision to lead the network to an exciting new level of audience outreach with meaningful, relevant content as we embrace the technological changes in public media. We are delighted to welcome Rick and his family to Maine.”
“Maine Public’s journalism and services during the pandemic epitomize the best of public media,” said Schneider. “I’m thrilled to join an organization that is so vital and beloved by residents across the state.”
Schneider served on the PBS board of directors and chaired the boards of the Public Television Major Market Group, Florida Public Media, and the Pacific Mountain Network. After leaving WETA, he joined the National Center for Family Philanthropy, a DC-based nonprofit serving family foundations nationwide.