PMWL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
the next chapter OF PUBLIC MEDIA depends on courageous leaders like YOU.
The PMWL Leadership Academy isn’t just a training series—it’s a movement. Level up, build your skills, expand your influence, and help shape independent, trusted, and unstoppable public media for the future. Lead boldly. Inspire change. Make it yours.
Participants in the PMWL Leadership Academy gain access to a rich bundle of career-boosting resources designed to extend learning beyond the live sessions. This includes recordings of every course, practical tip sheets, planning guides, templates, and actionable tools to help you implement strategies immediately. Plus, curated materials for reflection, goal-setting, and skill-building ensure you leave each session equipped to take bold steps, advance your career, and amplify your impact in public media.
SCHEDULE: pmwl LEADERSHIP ACADEMY MODULE 2 - JULY 14 - AUGUST 20, 2026
Taking the Lead: Fundraising in a Time of Disruption
This module goes beyond tactical fundraising training and focuses on:
executive preparation - Managers achieving or seeking a promotion
institutional leadership development - Managers new to fundraising
strategic philanthropy - New and Novel Approaches
organizational resilience - Managing during constant disruption
future-focused public media leadership - Leading to inspire, earn trust and respect
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Using Data, AI & Strategy Without Burning Out Your Staff
Presenters: Sachi Kobayashi, NPR - Director Collaborative Philanthropy
+ Nikki Jones, Rocky Mountain - Chief Digital Officer
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 - 10 AM TO 12 PM PST / 1 PM TO 3 PM EST
Technology should support strategy — not exhaust your team. Explore practical ways leaders can use data, predictive analytics, segmentation, automation, and AI tools to make smarter fundraising decisions while protecting staff capacity and culture.Key Themes
Data-informed leadership
AI and fundraising operations
Predictive analytics and segmentation
CRM strategy and reporting
Sustainable team management
> CLICK HERE TO PAY FOR YOUR COURSE
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Corporate, Foundation & Community Funding Without Mission Drift
Presenters: Trisha Richter, KPBS - Director of Grants and Engagement
+ Liz Cheng, Retired GM for TV & Streaming, GBH2, 44, GBH Kids, WORLD Channel
Tuesday, July 21, 2026 - 10 AM TO 12 PM PST / 1 PM TO 3 PM EST
Today’s partnerships require more than sponsorship packages. This session explores how leaders evaluate alignment, protect editorial integrity, and develop long-term institutional partnerships that advance both revenue and mission.Key Themes
Ethical sponsorships and trust: Do’s and Don’ts
Multi-year foundation grant strategy and institutional asks
Mission alignment and reputation management
Community-centered partnerships
Long-term cultivation: creating content and fundraising partnerships
> CLICK HERE TO PAY FOR YOUR COURSE
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Building Sustainable Revenue Beyond Traditional Methods
Presenters: Lana Berck, CARS - Chief Development Officer
+ Tracy Kaplan, KQED - Vice President of Membership
+ Sean Coveleski, Stand Up For CancerTuesday, July 28, 2026 - 10 AM TO 12 PM PST / 1 PM TO 3 PM EST
This session prepares soon-to-be C-suite leaders for a more resilient financial future. We’ll take a deep dive into what asset donation programs are, how they work, and why they appeal to today’s donor who is looking to make a lasting impact. We’ll explore how you can diversify revenue through asset donations (i.e., real-estate, crypto, DAFs), sponsorships, mission-aligned partnerships, event experiences, digital products, multiplatform outreach, and integrated fundraising strategies that strengthen long-term organizational resilience.
Key ThemesAsset Donation Programs
Art Donations
Revenue diversification in uncertain markets - What is working
Cross-platform revenue outreach
Sponsorships
Earned-income strategies
Innovative audience monetization
Building sustainable revenue ecosystems
Donor Advised Funds
> CLICK HERE TO PAY FOR YOUR COURSE
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Executive Strategies for Uncertainty, Trust & Institutional Resilience
Tuesday, August 4, 2026 - 10 AM TO 12 PM PST / 1 PM TO 3 PM EST
Presenter: Sonja Pasquantonio, Executive Leadership Coach + Jennifer Strachan, Former Public Media Executive and CEO of CinereachA candid conversation about the realities facing public media leaders today — including political pressure, economic instability, audience fragmentation, and organizational change.
Key ThemesExecutive preparation - Managers achieving or seeking a promotion
Institutional leadership development - Managers new to fundraising
Strategic philanthropy - New and Novel Approaches
Organizational resilience - Managing during constant disruption
Future-focused public media leadership - Do you inspire trust and respect? Are you nurturing the next-generation leaders
> CLICK HERE TO PAY FOR YOUR COURSE
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Budgeting, Forecasting & Leading Through Uncertainty
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 - 10 AM TO 12 PM PST / 1 PM TO 3 PM ESTPresenters: Kimberly Singleton, KERA - Chief Financial Officer + Glenda Davis, WABE - Executive Vice President of Membership & Development + Carlin Beckman, WNIN -Vice President of Finance and Administration
Future CEOs and other C-Suiters need more than fundraising skills — they need confidence as storytellers. This session helps leaders interpret budgets, understand cash flow, ask strategic financial questions, communicate organizational realities with clarity, and become effective storytellers, speaking with confidence, credibility and urgency on behalf of your organization.
Key Themes
Budget interpretation for leaders
Cash flow and forecasting
Financial stewardship
Strategic decision-making
Executive-level financial communication, within and outside the company.
Telling the story of your company effectively to achieve partnerships and support
> CLICK HERE TO PAY FOR YOUR COURSE
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Activating Boards, Teams & Leadership Around Revenue Growth
Thursday, August 20, 2026 - 10 AM TO 12 PM PST / 1 PM TO 3 PM EST
Presenter: Erika Pulley-Hayes, WAMU - General ManagerRevenue growth is no longer the responsibility of one department. Learn how executive leaders build organization-wide fundraising culture, engage boards with accountability, align teams around shared revenue goals, and galvanize community leaders to seek support on their behalf.
Key Themes
Board engagement and accountability
Cross-functional fundraising leadership
Building internal alignment
Coaching non-professionals into ambassadors and fundraisers for you
Creating a culture of philanthropy in-house and in the community
JUST A FEW SIMPLE STEPS TO GET STARTED:
1. Review the course schedule (listed above)
2. Pick your course
3. Complete your payment (click here)
4. Register for the Zoom session for your specific course (see above)
5. Check out the course materials (we’ll send then to you after you register)
6. Join us and come ready to grow!
Got questions? Need more information?
PMWL Members receive discounts on Leadership Academy courses. Join us today!
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE SUPPORT OF OUR MEMBERS AND FUNDERS:
Wyncote Foundation: Investing in Leadership
Wyncote Foundation has been a visionary partner to PMWL at a pivotal moment for public media leadership. Its early and sustained investment helped launch and strengthen PMWL’s most critical initiatives, including the CEO/COO Boot Camp and the evolution of that program into today’s Leadership Academy. At a time of unprecedented disruption and turnover across the system, Wyncote’s support ensured that public media leaders were equipped with the tools, confidence, and peer networks needed to lead through complexity and change.
Through its strategic commitment to leadership development and organizational capacity, Wyncote Foundation has played a central role in building a national pipeline of resilient, values-driven leaders. Its support has enabled PMWL to expand access beyond small cohorts, integrate mentoring and learning technology, and design scalable training that reaches professionals at every stage of their careers — from those in the trenches today to the executives of tomorrow. With Wyncote’s partnership, PMWL’s Leadership Academy is cultivating the next generation of leaders who will sustain public media’s mission, strengthen its institutions, and shape its future.
CARS: Driving Leadership and Equity in Public Media
CARS (Charitable Adult Rides & Services) is a California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Since the very beginning, CARS has been a foundational partner with PMWL, helping to shape and sustain public media’s most trusted leadership programs. Through its visionary support of initiatives like the CEO/COO Boot Camp and Brave Talk, CARS made strategic investments in PMWL's programs to help to build a national leadership pipeline, advance women into executive roles, and strengthen a more representative, values-driven leadership ecosystem for public media.
As a strategic partner, CARS continues to bring not only resources but expertise and a commitment to equity and inclusion, ensuring that public media leaders are equipped to navigate complex challenges, protect its mission, and innovate for the future. With its renewed support for PMWL’s Leadership Academy, CARS will power interactive workshops, mentorship, and professional development—cultivating the next generation of leaders who will connect, inspire, and make public media unstoppable.