Photo courtesy of Linda Shapley and the RMSMC Board of Directors
Rocky Mountain Student Media alumni and longtime Colorado media professional Linda Carpio Shapley has been named as interim CEO/President of RMSMC beginning Jan. 2. Shapley steps into the role following the departure of Pete Waack as President/CEO in late November.
Shapley is a two-time inductee into Colorado State University’s media and journalism hall of fame. She graduated in 1992 with a degree in speech communication, and served as the Editor in Chief of The Rocky Mountain Collegian.
Following her time at CSU, Shapley’s experience includes 20+ years at The Denver Post, cumulating in time as Managing Editor and Director of Newsroom Operations. She also was the managing editor of Colorado Politics. Shapley also served as Publisher and later Director of Editorial & Audience Development of Colorado Community Media, a conglomerate of local newspapers across the state of Colorado.
According to a press release provided by the RMSMC Board of Directors, “During her tenure, she guided the organization’s transition to a nonprofit business model, oversaw companywide operations and budgeting, launched a bilingual community newsletter, and developed newsroom and audience engagement strategies rooted in community needs. Shapley has led efforts to connect academia and newsrooms statewide to foster innovation and collaborative reporting, and she currently teaches media writing at Colorado State University.”
Shapley steps into the interim role following the departure of Waack, who served as President and CEO for 10 years. Shapley will serve in the interim role for the upcoming semester, when RMSMC will launch a national search for the next permanent CEO of the company.
Shapley will oversee newsroom operations for the six departments at RMSMC — The Collegian, CTV, College Ave, 5’003 video productions, Tree Stump Films and KCSU-FM.
“Linda’s deep experience in newsroom leadership, nonprofit media operations, and student mentorship makes her an exceptional choice to lead RMSMC into its next chapter,” said Board Chair Quinn Wierdsma. “Her commitment to community-driven journalism and her roots in CSU student media make this a full-circle moment.”
Reach Allie Seibel at news@collegian.com or on social media @allie_seibel_.