WASHINGTON—The NAB Leadership Foundation (NABLF) has announced the graduation of the 2025 Broadcast Leadership Training (BLT) class. The class's successful completion of the 10-month program boosts the number of executives who have completed the leadership training program during the last quarter of a century to 432 alumni.
The program provides an executive MBA-style curriculum that is designed to help senior-level broadcasters acquire the critical knowledge and skills needed to lead effective teams and operate successful radio and television stations.
Over the past several months, the foundation has commemorated the program’s silver anniversary by hosting several gatherings, including a leadership symposium and alumni receptions in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas.
They also created the Shooting Star Award in honor of founder and dean Diane Sutter. The award recognizes a BLT graduate or faculty for their work as a mentor, advisor and public servant within the broadcast industry. The first recipient of the award was S. Jenell Trigg, a former broadcast television sales and marketing executive whose career spanned 16 years in the Chicago and Baltimore markets, a retired member of Lerman Senter PLLC, and the founder and chair emeritus of the firm’s Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Practice Group.
"Over the past 25 years, we’ve created long-term value for the industry by adhering to a core philosophy – helping people reach their full potential prepares them to lead broadcasting into the next generation," Sutter said. "I am honored to have been entrusted to shape and guide the Broadcast Leadership Training program to what it is today – an opportunity for professionals to grow and strengthen their talent and skills to take broadcasting to new frontiers. I’m excited about what we’re going to see in the next quarter century and how we’ll continue to innovate, inform and inspire the communities we serve.”
Sutter was also presented with an eagle at the Celebration of Service to America Awards ceremony for her lifelong dedication to the broadcast industry.
The 2025 BLT Class graduates are:
- Dana Bojcic, senior vice president, Talent Development and Human Resources, Futuri Media
- Blake Bridges, general manager, WYFF, Hearst Television
- JC Campese, vice president and market manager, Cox Media Group, Orlando Radio
- Rebecca Cantu, president and general manager, KIII, TEGNA
- Sean Franklin, vice president and general manager, WLEX, E.W. Scripps
- Nikki Gahan, regional digital sales manager - Detroit and Minneapolis, FOX Television Stations
- Sean Garcia, director, Creative Services, WSB-TV, Cox Media Group
- Cherish Geter, general sales manager, WJXT, Graham Media Group
- Maurice Gibson, vice president, Human Resources, Gray Media
- LeAnne Markins, station manager, WKBW, E.W. Scripps
- Brian McGhee, director, Sales, Urban One D.C.
- Chris Palmer, vice president and general manager, WKBT, Morgan Murphy Media
- Ivy Savoy-Smith, senior vice president and market manager, Audacy
- Kristine Strain, vice president, news director and station manager, KCNC, CBS Paramount
- Jason Strongin, senior vice president, Audio Sales and Client Solutions, TelevisaUnivision
- Jennifer Williams, director, Digital Media and Strategic Initiatives, Bonneville International
NABLF thanked this year’s program sponsors: Beasley Media Group, Bonneville International, Cox Media Group, Fox TV Stations, Futuri, Graham Media Group, Gray Television, Hearst Television, Legend Communications, Morgan Murphy Media, NAB, Nielsen Foundation, Scripps, Tegna and TelevisaUnivision.
