VIENNA, Va.—The Media Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization specializing in communications policy and the First Amendment, has named Kathleen Kirby of Wiley Rein LLP and Heidi Raphael of Beasley Media Group to its board of trustees.
Kirby is a partner at Washington law firm Wiley Rein, where she co-chairs the Telecom, Media and Technology practice and sits on the executive and management committees. She has worked as a media lawyer for more than 30 years, representing television and radio station groups, programming networks and others on a range of business and transactional issues, as well as on matters before the Federal Communications Commission.
Kirby is also a past president of the Federal Communications Bar Association and has received leadership awards from both the Radio Television Digital News Association and the Broadcasters Foundation of America. She is a member of the Media Institute’s First Amendment Advisory Council, serves on the steering committee of the Institute’s Madison Project and has been inducted into the National Freedom of Information Hall of Fame.
Raphael is Beasley Media Group’s chief communications officer, overseeing corporate branding, public relations and internal and external communications. Beasley is a multiplatform media company that owns and operates radio stations and digital platforms.
She has also served as co-chair of the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation for the past five years and has held leadership roles with Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW), including seven years as its spokesperson. Raphael has been an elected member of the NAB Radio Board and currently serves on the Florida Association of Broadcasters board of directors. She is also a past recipient of the Broadcasters Foundation of America Leadership Award.
“We are delighted to have Kathy and Heidi joining our board,” Media Institute President Richard Kaplar said. “Each is highly respected in her field, and their complementary areas of expertise will be a valuable addition to our board and to the institute.”
