WYSO Adds To Development Team

Newly independent public radio station WYSO is expanding its development team with the two veteran Miami Valley businesswomen.

Sara Woodhull, most recently Director of Major Gifts for the College of Liberal Arts at Wright State University, is the station’s new Major Gifts Officer. Heather Martin, owner of MartinInk communications company and former editor and publisher of the Dayton Business Journal, has joined the team as the grant writer. Martin also chaired WYSO’s community resource board from 2007 to 2013.

“These women have a wealth of leadership experience, and they understand how to articulate an organization’s vision and mission to a variety of audiences,” said WYSO general manager Luke Dennis, who until recently was the station’s development director. “In my new role I have new responsibilities, so I brought Sara and Heather on board to add their expertise to the team. We’re lucky to have them. Their contributions will be vital as we build the next version of WYSO.”

Woodhull has been a local bank executive and a development professional since 1988. She was a senior leader in treasury management and community development for nearly 20 years. Following that, she served as the major gift officer and the development director at the University of Dayton. She recently retired from Wright State after nine years in donor development.

“I am excited to tell WYSO’s story to local donors,” Woodhull said. “Our community is fortunate to have this long-standing NPR station. I am thrilled for the opportunity to join this team and help WYSO keep growing.”

After 16 years as a business and trade publication writer and editor, Martin left journalism in 2007 to work in other editorial capacities—first as a curriculum writer and developer for a local organizational development firm and then as a communications coordinator for an educational technology company. She started MartinInk in 2015, providing a range of services—including grant writing, ghost writing and strategic communications planning—to nonprofit and for-profit clients.

“WYSO is so dear to my heart,” Martin said. “I love to talk about this station and what it means to our community. Luke Dennis and Neenah Ellis have been incredible leaders, and I’m honored that they’ve asked me to be part of this next phase of WYSO’s journey.”

Established in 1958 by Antioch College students, WYSO is a community-owned NPR affiliate with a weekly listening audience of more than 70,000 and 6,000 member households. In September, the Federal Communications Commission approved the station’s application to form the community-based nonprofit Miami Valley Public Media Inc., which took ownership of WYSO’s license from Antioch College. Neenah Ellis, formerly the station’s general manager, is now president of Miami Valley Public Media and will be the director of the new Eichelberger Center for Community Voices.