Nashville Public Radio names Holly Kernan of KQED as president and CEO

Nashville Public Radio has hired its next president and CEO. Longtime public media leader Holly Kernan will oversee 90.3 WPLN News, music discovery station WNXP 91.1, and the organization’s classical music streaming service.

She succeeds Steve Swenson, who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Kernan most recently served as chief content officer for KQED in San Francisco, where she’s been responsible for local news, radio, TV, podcasts, digital video and programming.

“It is a reflection on the strength and growth of WPLN that we can attract someone with Kernan’s impressive media background from KQED, one of the most respected organizations within the public media industry,” said Neil Thorne, board chairman for Nashville Public Radio. “She brings a wealth of experience in leading teams.”

Kernan said she’s impressed by the growth of Nashville Public Radio in recent years.

“I’m thrilled to help shepherd this next phase of community service and to embrace my new home in Nashville,” she said.

Kernan has deep public media roots, including more than a decade as KALW’s news and public affairs director. During her tenure there she was the architect of the award-winning Public Interest Reporting Project. More recently, she played a central role in transforming KQED into a “digital first” news organization.

Fluent in English and Spanish, Kernan launched a journalism-training program at Mills College and has held teaching positions at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Santa Rosa Junior College, and San Francisco State University.

She and her husband, Mike Woitalla, executive editor of Soccer America, will move to Nashville in August.