February 3, 2023
VESTAL, NY: The WSKG Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Natasha Thompson as WSKG’s new President and CEO, effective Monday, April 3, 2023. Thompson succeeds Greg Catlin, who retired in October, 2022. WSKG filmmaker and Director of Operations, Brian Frey, was appointed Interim President and CEO at that time. Thompson has served as the President and CEO of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier since 2008.
Thompson is very familiar with WSKG, not only as a long-time member, but she also served as the on-air host of the station’s award-winning public affairs television series “Chasing the Dream” during the entirety of that series’ three-year run. "WSKG is a tremendous local media & educational resource and a vital part of the fabric of our community, helping us make sense of the world and our place in it. I am honored to join the team and look forward to working closely with the staff and board of trustees to help chart the next phase of its evolution."
WSKG Board Chairman Allen Buyck says, “Natasha Thompson is well known and highly respected in both the nonprofit and commercial world in our region. Her track record of success and wealth of experience in organizational leadership, fundraising, and building community partnerships is the perfect skill set for our organization. Natasha possesses all the visionary qualities WSKG’s Board of Trustees believes are needed to help WSKG navigate the rapidly changing media universe, while continuing our work providing high-quality national and local programs and services that our members, listeners, and viewers have come to rely on.”
As the President and CEO of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, Thompson helped build one of the strongest community food banks in the country. Under her leadership, the Food Bank was named Food Bank of the Year in 2017 by Feeding America, the nation's food banking network. Thompson also led the organization through a successful $5.75M capital campaign that helped grow the Food Bank's operations and services across the region. The Food Bank distributes nearly 13 million pounds of food annually across a 6-county region through a network of 160 partner agencies, including food pantries and meal programs as well as direct service programs like the Mobile
Food Pantry Program.
About WSKG:
WSKG Public Television and Radio serves 21 counties across New York’s Southern Tier and northern Pennsylvania with the best of PBS and NPR programming along with classical music and jazz. WSKG operates 4 TV channels (PBS, PBS Kids, World and Create) and 2 radio stations (WSKG-FM and WSQX-FM). WSKG is operated by WSKG Public Telecommunications Council, a private non-profit corporation chartered by the Board of Regents of the State University of New York in association with the New York State Department of Education, and provides a public educational telecommunications service under the governance of a Board of Trustees which is selected from the communities served by the Station.
Contact: Brian Frey, Interim President and CEO bfrey@wskg.org
Allen Buyck, Chairman of the Board, abuyck@stny.rr.com