Danae Davis has been named as interim executive director of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee (WYMS-FM 88.9) while a search committee launches a formal search process to permanently fill the position, the station’s board of directors announced Friday.
“88Nine Radio Milwaukee is a special place, and I look forward to working with the excellent staff team and board and our many community partners to continue its mission of making our community a better, more inclusive place for everyone,” Davis said of her interim role. Davis previously served on the Radio Milwaukee board of directors for nine years, including time as board chair. She currently serves as executive director of Milwaukee Succeeds, a nonprofit focused on improving educational outcomes for local students, and will continue in that role.
Throughout her career Davis has held top leadership positions with for-profit, nonprofit and government organizations. She served as CEO of PEARLS for Teen Girls Inc., a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that uses a nationally recognized model for girl empowerment and leadership development for adolescent girls, in addition to serving as diversity affairs director at Miller Brewing Co. (now Molson Coors) earlier in her career. She held a similar position at Kraft Foods. She also served as the City of Milwaukee director of employee relations and as a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.
The change in leadership comes as Kevin Sucher steps down from his role as executive director to pursue other opportunities.
“We appreciate Kevin’s work at Radio Milwaukee and his commitment to advancing our mission of being a catalyst for creating a better, more inclusive and engaged community. We wish him the best moving forward,” said Ross Williams, chair of Radio Milwaukee’s board of directors. “We’re very pleased to have Danae as interim executive director as she brings a high level of experience and understanding of Radio Milwaukee and our mission as an organization.”
Jordan Lee, 88Nine’s former station director who is now a consultant and contracting with the station through Paragon Media Strategies, will facilitate the leadership transition.
Radio Milwaukee will continue its normal operations in addition to projects in the community. While there is no established timeline to name a permanent executive director, the process will be a thorough effort to find the most qualified individual who is the best fit for the job, Williams said.
“We’d like to name a permanent executive director as soon as possible, but it will be a deliberate process, and we expect to have many talented applicants for the job,” Williams said. “In the interim, we’re very confident in Danae’s leadership capabilities to continue moving our organization forward.”
