ORLANDO – January 5, 2023 – WMFE and WMFV, public media stations serving nine Central Florida counties, have created an innovative new Content Leadership Team in an effort to better serve audiences on all platforms and to make journalism a two-way street, in conversation with the Central Florida community.
The four-member team includes WMFE’s News Director and three new positions -- Director of Community Collaboration, Director of Audio Content, and Digital Director.
Community Collaboration Director
Audio Content Director
Digital Director
News Director
The newest member of the team, Rebecca Fernandez, stepped into the role of Director of Community Collaboration in January 2023, after nearly six years as Neighborhood Relations Coordinator for the City of Orlando. She will support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by building and nurturing genuine connections between WMFE and the diverse Central Florida community it serves. She will also support the creation and distribution of content for and with the community.
Director of Audio Content Brad Waldo joined WMFE in September 2022 after serving as program manager at WUCF-FM for nearly five years. He will use his three decades of experience as an award-winning program director to foster audience and community relationships and to expand and diversify the reach of WMFE’s audio-based journalism.
Digital Director Ryan Ellison has been with the station for more than 13 years and was promoted from Digital Manager in July 2022. He is a genuine collaborator and digital media creator responsible for directing various teams on the conceptualization, design, development and maintenance of digital properties.
News Director LaToya Dennis has led the WMFE team since July 2021, guiding coverage of hurricanes, elections, and a compelling series on social justice issues marking 10 years since Trayvon Martin’s death. She is an award-winning journalist who started her journalism career in Milwaukee in 2006.
“These four leaders are experts in their distinct but overlapping fields, and I’m eager to see what they will accomplish for WMFE’s current and future audiences by working collaboratively as a team of co-equals,” said WMFE President and General Manager Judith Smelser. "Our community expects and deserves high-quality independent journalism that reflects and serves our diverse population, and WMFE is committed to providing that public service.”
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About WMFE/WMFV and Community Communications Inc.:
Community Communications Inc. is a nonprofit, member-supported, community-based public broadcasting company that operates 90.7 WMFE-FM, metro Orlando’s primary provider of NPR programming and independent local and regional journalism; 90.7-2 Classical; and 89.5 WMFV, public radio for The Villages, Leesburg, and The Golden Triangle. Part of the community since 1980, Community Communications focuses on providing quality national and local news and programming on all platforms. WMFE/V’s mission is to empower the community to better understand and participate in our diverse and complex world through independent journalism and fact-based content. The organization strives to be part of the solution to critical societal problems including misinformation/disinformation, uncertainty, division, and the declining journalism infrastructure