CULVER CITY, CALIF. — Nadine Zylstra has been appointed chief content officer of a public radio network, with her role effective in July 2026. She will be based in Culver City, California.
Zylstra previously served as the global head of programming and original content at Pinterest. She also previously worked as the global head of original video programming and led children's educational content at YouTube. Zylstra will oversee the leaders of the newsroom, music department, and podcast divisions, managing a staff of more than 600 journalists and storytellers. She will not participate in news editorial decisions, and Tommy Evans will report to Zylstra on strategic matters while retaining responsibility for journalism oversight.
Zylstra expressed her perspective on the new role. "I really feel like I've been training for this job my whole life," Zylstra said. She added, "I really do care about making the world a better place." Katherine Maher, a public media executive, stated that Zylstra's background and understanding of media with a mission were key factors. "In Nadine, we found somebody who comes out of public media who understands the importance of media with a mission and a purpose, and as a tool for civic engagement," Maher said.
The appointment occurred less than two weeks after a restructuring of the organization's news department. Maher indicated that she did not believe additional layers were needed in the network's journalism. "I felt as though the network's journalism is rock solid and we've got great editorial leadership, and it was not probably the place where we needed additional layers," she said. Thomas Evans was hired as editor in chief in September 2024, after previously serving as a bureau chief for a major news organization in London.
Zylstra worked as a programming executive at Sesame Workshop for 11 years. She joined the board of directors for a regional public broadcasting station in Southern California in January 2024. Zylstra is a native of South Africa and holds a bachelor's degree in drama and theatre arts from a university in Johannesburg. Her first employment in the U.S. was as a producer covering celebrity news for a cable music channel.
The position of chief content officer was previously held by Kinsey Wilson nearly two decades prior, then eliminated by Jarl Mohn in 2014. Edith Chapin served as acting chief content officer and editor in chief from 2023 until her departure in 2024. The organization's content is accessed weekly by more than 42 million people across all platforms. Philanthropist Connie Ballmer pledged $80 million and an anonymous donor contributed $33 million to improve technology and distribution for the organization. Another anonymous donation of $33 million helped offset potential staff reductions after approximately 30 newsroom positions were eliminated through buyouts and layoffs. A federal judge ruled that an executive order directing the termination of funding for public media broadcasters violated the First Amendment.