Stewart Vanderwilt | CEO | Colorado Public Radio
Metro Market Radio Candidate
Professional Experience Summary
Stewart joined Colorado Public Radio in July 2018 after leading public radio organizations for over two decades. Previously, he was the director and general manager of Austin’s KUT and KUTX radio stations where he spent 18 years and worked to transform the organization into one of the highest-rated public radio stations in a market of its size. He also spent 15 years at Indiana Public Radio serving in various positions.
At Colorado Public Radio, Stewart works closely with the Board of Directors, Senior Staff, Leadership Team and staffers in four Colorado cities and Washington, DC to fulfill the organization’s mission and vision.
He has previously served on the boards of Public Radio International, Greater Public, Learning Ally, and the Station Resource Group. He served as Executive Producer for a short-lived rock history program distributed by NPR. He has been an off ice official for a minor league hockey team and has worked for tips as a ski instructor at a small hill in Michigan.
Stewart has a Bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Ball State University and worked at the same radio station that fired David Letterman.
Reason for Running
I believe that free, over the air broadcasting is one of the most democratic of mediums. The user platform is inexpensive and easy to use, there is no pay wall or registration required and access is private.
Local broadcasters provide critical roles and sometimes life saving information for their communities. Commercial broadcasters support a healthy economy by connecting consumers with businesses and issues of local importance.
As a public broadcaster we have many shared interests in supporting a healthy broadcast ecosystem. And it is essential that we strengthen the ecosystem to provide services that reach all Coloradans in support of equitable access and outcomes for all.
Some of our shared areas of interest include: creating a pipeline of talent representative of the diversity of our state; fairness and modernization of the application of copyright, data privacy impacts on newsgathering, Forest Service leases, emergency alert services; and the protection of CORA access.
If elected, I would work with broadcasters across the state to strengthen the service we provide and to deliver a positive impact for our communities.