Caryn G. Mathes
Board MemberPresident & General Manager
About
Ms. Caryn G. Mathes has been President and General Manager for Puget Sound Public Radio/KUOW, Seattle, WA since January 2014. Throughout her career leading three different major market stations (Detroit, D.C. and Seattle), Mathes has drawn upon her experience in communications management and strategic planning to transform organizations into public media leaders. Guided by commitment to veracity and independence, she has expanded KUOW’s broadcast and online presence and positioned the organization to thrive in the digital age. Under her leadership, KUOW has reached new heights for its broadcast and digital audiences, individual donors and revenue, and KUOW is a leader in media for racial diversity, equity and inclusion transformation.
Mathes was the 2021 recipient of the University Station Alliance’s Madison Hodges Award for public media leaders achieving community impact. In 2016, Mathes received the Puget Sound Business Journal’s “Women of Influence” award. She was twice elected to the national governing board of NPR (2011-2017). Mathes currently serves on the boards of Greater Public, the Northwest Public Affairs Network (NPAN) the governing body for the Northwest News Network regional news collaboration, the University Station Alliance (USA) and the Washington State Association of Broadcasters (WSAB). Mathes is a member of Vistage, a CEO peer mentoring group and KUOW belongs to the Western States Public Radio (WSPR) regional organization. Mathes earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN.
Stories
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KUOW to cease activity on Twitter after NPR is falsely labeled as ‘state-affiliated media’
A statement from KUOW President and General Manager Caryn G. Mathes
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Celebrating 65 years with a new look and a new attitude
Sixty-five years ago, on February 12, 1952, KUOW’s first general manager, Edwin H. Adams, received a telegram (pictured below) from the FCC granting...
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Who we are as a media organization, and why we're here
When I first arrived at KUOW three years ago, there was electricity in the air, that anticipatory excitement about yet-to-be-defined change. All around, there was a desire to try new things, an appetite to be bold, and a devotion to occupy a more central place in the lives of the people who call the Puget Sound home. All of us — KUOW’s board, leadership, our staff — agreed: Now was the time. And we began asking, what kind of company do we want to be? Who do we need to be?