Friends of WLRN, the fundraising arm of WLRN Radio & Television, has chosen seven new board members to support the future direction of the station and public media in South Florida.
The new members -- Carlos Blanco, Dwight Hill, Diana Parker, Flora Perez, Randel Ransom, G. Frederick Reinhardt and Tadd Schwartz -- bring a wealth of expertise and represent leading sectors of the regional economy, from real estate and banking to transportation and telecommunications.
“The diverse set of ideas and knowledge the new board members bring to WLRN are essential to our goal of being a high-performing, inclusive organization,” said John Labonia, general manager of WLRN. “I look forward to working with them to further the continued success and the mission of WLRN Public Radio and Television.”
The Friends of WLRN board of directors is a select group of individuals, from a variety of backgrounds, responsible for setting policy and overseeing the organization's general well-being.
“Friends of WLRN has built a presence that resonates within the South Florida community," said Victor Kendall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Friends of WLRN. "Its capacity to attract board members of this caliber is a reflection of WLRN’s next growth cycle.”
The seven newly elected board members include:
Carlos Blanco is currently vice president and general manager of AT&T Mobility in South Florida and the former president of BellSouth International in Ecuador. He previously served as chief operating officer of Telefonica Moviles in Venezuela.
Dwight Hill is executive vice president at Sabadell United Bank and a former assistant vice president at Pan American Bank.
Diana Parker is a licensed real estate broker in Florida and senior vice president at CBRE, Inc.
Flora Perez is vice president and deputy general counsel of Ryder System, Inc. and was a lawyer with the international law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Miami. She previously served as assistant controller for Cargill International Corp.
Randel Ransom is senior vice president of SABMiller Latin America and former chief marketing officer at Miller Brewing Company. He previously served as senior vice president of trademarks at Coca-Cola North America and chief marketing officer at FEMSA Cerveza.
G. Frederick Reinhardt is chairman and chief executive officer at Espirito Santo Bank and former executive vice president at BNC Financial Group, Inc. He previously served as a director and global banking group head at Merrill Lynch USA.
Tadd Schwartz is founder and president of Schwartz Media Strategies and a former partner at Miami-based rbb. He previously held an executive position with public relations giant Weber Shandwick and worked on the Washington, D.C. staff of former Florida Senator Bob Graham.
Friends of WLRN was established in 1974 to cultivate individual, foundation and corporate funding for 91.3 WLRN, South Florida’s NPR news station, and PBS Channel 17. Revenues for the current year are projected to reach $10 million.
The board includes up to 15 representatives from business, civic and community organizations.
