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KUOW Board of Directors Welcomes New Members and Announces New DEI Committee

Seattle, WA — KUOW is thrilled to welcome four new members to the KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio (PSPR) Board of Directors. David Iyall, Jessie Harris, Michelle Merriweather and Roshni Naidu joined the Board in January 2022. The Board also established a new DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Committee, in support of KUOW’s ongoing racial equity initiatives. Board leadership includes Chris Jay (Chair), Irwin Goverman (Vice Chair), Liam Lavery (Treasurer) and Heidi De Laubenfels (Immediate Past Chair).

The KUOW PSPR Board of Directors provides fiscal oversight and management of affairs, property, and interests, ensuring the station meets its goals, steering KUOW towards a sustainable future by providing insight for ethical governance and financial management practices. KUOW is committed to engaging a diverse leadership board. Of the 21 members, 45% identify as female, 55% as male; 41% are between the ages of 30 and 49; and 50% of directors identify as a person of color.

New and Updated Committees

In addition to the existing Governance, Strategic Planning, Executive and Finance Committee, this year the PSPR Board is adding a DEI committee and changing the name of the Development committee to Reach and Resource to more accurately reflect that committee’s work and purpose.

Chaired by Ian Warner with vice chair Michelle Merriweather, the purpose of the DEI Committee is to lead the Board in its goal to be a body of informed leadership for accessibility, diversity, inclusion, and equity. This committee is tasked with providing guidance, recommendations and information to the Board on matters relating to DEI, accessibility, culture, and continuous education as they relate to KUOW and Board activity. The DEI Committee will also assist with the development and reporting of KUOW initiatives advancing racial equity and DEI efforts.

The Reach and Resource Committee, chaired by Claire O’Donnell, will help to facilitate strategies to increase engagement, build community connection, and work with leadership to promote, advance and encourage support for — and advocacy of — KUOW in the Puget Sound region and beyond. The Reach and Resource Committee will also assist with the development of guidelines for Board activities and community communications.

New Board Members

David Iyall: David Iyall has over 20 years of experience in higher education advancement. At the University of Washington, Dave serves as Interim Assistant Dean for Advancement in the College of Education and Senior Director for Advancement in the College of the Environment. Dave is an enrolled member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and has served on the tribe’s education committee for 15 years.

Jessie Harris: Jessie Harris is a Partner (and former Managing Director) with the law firm of Williams, Kastner & Gibbs, PLLC in Seattle, WA. Jessie concentrates his practice on civil litigation related to employment law, catastrophic injury and professional liability. He is also a member of American Board of Trial Advocates, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, King County Bar Association and the Loren Miller Bar Association.

Michelle Merriweather: Michelle Y. Merriweather is the President of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. Her passion is combining her extensive sales, fund development, event planning and marketing background to better the communities in which she serves. Michelle is a co-architect of the Black Future Co-op Fund and an inaugural member of the WA State Women's Commission.

Roshni Naidu: A self-proclaimed “funny tech kiddo”, Roshni has launched several multi-billion-dollar machine-learning products during her time at Amazon. She has received kudos from Amazon SVPs for her pragmatic creativity, ability to break down and tackle large ambitious problems — all with a sense of humor. Currently, Roshni is Director of Product at Bluecrew, a 90-person start-up that helps blue-collar workers quickly find jobs.

View full Board member bios, committees and meeting dates here.