Maine Public's new leader combines media and philanthropy expertise

Courtesy photo Rick Schneider will take over as president and CEO of Maine Public on Aug. 2.

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Maine Public, the statewide PBS and NPR network, named its new president and CEO.

Rick Schneider, who will start the job on Aug. 2, replaces president and CEO for a decade, Mark Vogelzang, who announced earlier this year he planned to step down on July 1.

Schneider’s background combines a long career in public broadcasting and radio with an expertise in philanthropy.

He most recently served as senior vice president of advancement for the National Center for Family Philanthropy in Washington, D.C. Before that, he was chief operating officer for WETA, which has a PBS station and a classical music station in the Washington, D.C., market. While there, in 2014, he helped organize acquisition of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and was named the first president of NewsHour Productions, with oversight of the “PBS NewsHour.”

He was previously president and CEO of WPBT in Miami and KNPB in Reno. He started his career as a broadcast news reporter and anchor before moving to news director and then station manager of WUFT-TV in Gainesville, Fla.

"Rick’s extensive background in public broadcasting and journalism make him the right choice for Maine Public’s next president and CEO," said Marion Freeman, the chair of Maine Public’s board of trustees. "He has the experience and vision to lead the network to an exciting new level of audience outreach with meaningful, relevant content as we embrace the technological changes in public media. We are delighted to welcome Rick and his family to Maine."

"Maine Public’s journalism and services during the pandemic epitomize the best of public media," said Schneider. "I’m thrilled to join an organization that is so vital and beloved by residents across the state."

Livingston Associates assisted Maine Public in conducting the national search.

Founded in 1992, Maine Public is an independently owned and operated nonprofit with office and studio locations in Bangor, Lewiston, and Portland.