Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc. (MIW), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of female leadership in radio broadcasting, is pleased to introduce four new members to its Board of Directors: Becky Brenner, Consulting Partner at Albright & O’Malley & Brenner Consulting; Dawn Krause, Vice President of Finance for Midwest Communications, Inc.; Maria Laing-Smith, Senior Vice President of Mr. Master; and Leslie Scott, Vice President of Digital Audio Content for Audacy. Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc. consists of top-level female radio professionals who use their experience, influence and resources to help other women in radio develop management and leadership skills.
Becky Brenner is celebrating 45+ years in radio and is currently consulting country radio stations across the U.S. and in Canada. For multiple years running, Brenner has been named one of Radio Ink’s Top PD’s (all formats) in America and the #1 Country Programmer. In 2022, she was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in addition to receiving the 2010 MIW Radio Group’s “Achievement in Programming” Award. Brenner has held Management, Programming and on-air positions with Midwest Family, EZ Communications, ARS, Infinity and CBS; mostly in Seattle, WA. Her primary station for 26 years was 94.1 KMPS-FM, named the 2004 CMA and the 2010 ACM Major Market Station of the Year. She has served on the Country Radio Broadcasters Board of Directors for over 20 years (three years as President) and is an 18 year member of the CMA Board of Directors.
Dawn Krause has over 25 years of financial experience and is currently the Vice President of Finance at Midwest Communications, which owns 80 radio stations. Before joining Midwest, Dawn held management positions at the Marshfield Clinic and senior accounting positions at Northcentral Technical College and Wipfli CPA accounting and consulting firm. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Dawn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and business. She is an active member of the Media Financial Management Association.
(Photo L to R: Becky Brenner, Dawn Krause, Maria Laing-Smith & Leslie Scott)
Maria Laing-Smith is Senior Vice President of Mr. Master, where she oversees the company’s affiliate growth strategies, and both station and network partnerships. Under Laing-Smith, Mr. Master has amassed 8,500 affiliate partnerships and processes more than one million spots per week, making it the leader in software compliance and content distribution software. Prior to serving as Senior Vice President, Laing-Smith was VP of Business Development at Mr. Master. During her nearly 20-year tenure at the company, Laing-Smith has spearheaded the creation of accountability standards for the terrestrial broadcast audio industry, co-founded Mr. Master’s AIM software, and ushered in Mr. Master’s transition from a CD to a digital delivery service. Laing-Smith is also a member of the Alliance of Women in Media and has been an elected Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Broadcast Engineers since 2010, and has been recognized as one of Radio Ink ’s Most Influential Women in Radio since 2020.
Leslie Scott has over 20 years of experience as a Brand Manager, digital marketing leader, on-air personality, and music curator at great radio brands including KNDD-FM/Seattle (107.7 The End). Currently, Leslie serves as Audacy’s Vice President of Digital Audio Content, a newly-created role she took on in 2021 that focuses on cultivating audio content including digital playlist curation, podcasts, and special live events on Audacy’s digital platform. Leslie is an advocate for women in radio, having mentored women in the industry, along with being selected as the inaugural MIW/Nielsen Programming Mentee in 2017. Leslie is a firm believer in local radio’s ability to build community by connecting people across town or across the globe.
MIW Board President Ruth Presslaff said, “The very impressive MIW Board just got even more impressive! We are so delighted to welcome Leslie, Maria, Dawn, and Becky and eager for their expertise to help grow and support our mentoring mission. Many thanks to Corinne Baldassano and Valerie Geller, who are cycling off the Board, for their years of work and wisdom.”
In addition to these four new members, 2024 Mentoring & Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc. Board of Directors including: Lindsay Adams, General Sales Manager for Good Karma Brands Chicago; Angie Balderas, Senior Vice President and Market Manager with Entravision Communications; Erica Farber, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Radio Advertising Bureau; Lori Flowers, Manager, Integrated Marketing and Project Management for Radio One; Tricia Gallenbeck, Regional Vice President of Reno & Eugene, OR for Cumulus; Brittney Jackson, Director, Integrated Marketing for Radio One + Reach Media; Haley Jones, Head of Independents for Luminate; Sheila Kirby,Senior Vice President Sales Acceleration for Audacy; Jenna Miller, Play by Play Marketing Consultant for Good Karma Brands; Randi P’Pool, CEO of P’Pool Media; and Ruth Presslaff, President of Presslaff Interactive.
To learn more about the organization, please visit RadioMIW.com.
