For the second time in three years, Radio Milwaukee (WYMS-88.9FM) is in search of a new leader.
Following the recent departure of Maxie Jackson, senior director of programming Jordan Lee will serve as the station’s interim executive director while the search is carried out.
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Jackson took over the role previously held by Kevin Sucher, who resigned in January 2022 after less than two years on the job.
In a message to its members and supporters, Radio Milwaukee’s board of directors noted that Lee’s “proven leadership and deep understanding of our mission will be invaluable.”
The board expressed gratitude for Jackson’s contributions to the organization over the past two and a half years. Jackson arrived at Radio Milwaukee after serving as the chief content officer for New England Public Media with a stated goal of making the station “an essential public media organization.”
“If we do our job, in five years, we will be the standard that everybody looks at and says, ‘Yeah, that’s how you do it. That’s what public media is supposed to look like,’” Jackson told Milwaukee Magazine in 2022.
Lee has been a familiar voice to Milwaukee radio listeners. He first joined Radio Milwaukee in 2008, left in 2022 and returned in November 2023 as senior director of programming.
“Since 2008, Jordan has been an integral part of the Radio Milwaukee team, consistently demonstrating a commitment to excellence and innovation,” the board said. “With his experience, passion and unmatched ability to tell our story, we are confident in Jordan’s leadership to guide us smoothly through this transition while we begin the search for a permanent leader.”
The board noted that, in 2024, Radio Milwaukee posted some it’s “best fundraising and donor-drive results since 2020” and brought back some of its most popular events, including Fall Ball and SoundBites while building programming on HYFIN and 88Nine.
Radio Milwaukee has listener engagement “that’s the envy of other radio stations,” the board said.
