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KWMU Management
Director and General Manager Patty Wente has managed KWMU since August 1989. She is responsible for the overall operation of KWMU, management and supervision of staff, budget preparation and monitoring, programming, promotion, and development.
Wente served on the board of directors of National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcast Managers Association (PBMA), and was also a member of the Public Radio Leadership Forum (2004-2005). She is current President of Public Radio in Mid America (PRIMA) and represents PRIMA in the Public Radio Regionals Organization. Wente serves on the boards of Dance St. Louis and Finale St. Louis and is a member of the Marketing & Communications Committee of the United Way of St. Louis, and the St. Louis Forum.
Prior to joining the KWMU staff, Wente was Manager of Station Grant Programs at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for both public radio and television stations in Washington, D.C. She has also managed public radio stations in Norman, Oklahoma and Wichita, Kansas.
Wente has received two national awards including the Public Broadcast Management Association’s 1999 Award of Excellence and Public Radio Regional Organizations 1999 “Potholder” Award.
Wente received a Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Illinois-Springfield (formerly Sangamon State University), in Springfield, Illinois and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the same institution.
Wente is originally from Champaign, Illinois.
Administrative Manager Robert Peterson, a twenty-six year veteran of radio programming and operations management, returns to KWMU after seven years at WUSF in Tampa, Florida where he served as the station's Program Director, a position he held with KWMU from 1995 to 2000. His career also includes time spent at WMFE, WBJW (now WOMX), and WUCF in Orlando, Florida. Peterson is a 2005 graduate of the University of South Florida, where he received his BA in Communications.
Special Events Manager Phil Donato, a native St. Louisan, has been planning special events for more than 20 years—first as a student for the Saint Louis University for the Department of Athletics and then professionally for Boys Hope/Girls Hope, the Illinois Health & Sports Foundation and KWMU since 2004. Donato is a graduate of Southern Illinois University where he received his Master of Science in Education (1999) and Saint Louis University where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Certificate in Journalism (1987).
In his spare time, Donato teaches Sports & Entertainment Planning and Management classes at Fontbonne University for the OPTIONS program. He writes questions for and emcees trivia nights for more than 50 non-profit organizations annually. He is an avid sports fan, and he enjoys spending time with his wife, Rosanne, daughter, Ellen, and son Joe.
Chief Engineer Terrence Dupuis has been with the station since August 1998. Previously, he worked for 18 years as a repair technician for Tandy Corporation, servicing High End consumer electronics.
Since joining KWMU’s engineering department, Mr. Dupuis has led numerous equipment replacement/upgrade projects, including: installation of a new Satellite Dish to receive NPR programming; upgrade of AudioVAULT from single server to a Dual Server with 8 active cards; design of completely operational remote control systems (via phone) for transmission site; installation of the Logitek consoles; installation of desktop editing for the news department; complete AXIA audio console system; planning and installation of complete HD broadcast system.
Catch Phrase: “If it lights up, plugs in or turns on, I probably take care of it.”
Fiscal Operations Business Manager Sherry M. Hieken has been with KWMU for 10 years. She is responsible for the fiscal operations of the station. Prior to coming to KWMU, she was the Operations Business Manager for Double Helix Corporation. She holds a Bachelor of Science in finance and a Masters Degree in business administration from Fontbonne College. She is a BIG sports fan. The rams are her favorite team and Kurt Warner is her favorite quarterback. She has been married for 10 years.
Development Director Shelley Kerley has been at KWMU since May, 1990. Prior to coming to KWMU, she was the Development Director at public radio station WUIS-FM in Springfield, Illinois. She holds a Masters Degree in business administration from Western Illinois University and is an accomplished violinist and pianist, earning a bachelors degree in music education from the same institution. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Public Radio Association of Development Officers and serves on the board of the Masterworks Chorale. With husband John and two boys, she also tries to find time to enjoy dinner with friends, camping and hiking, a little gardening and an occasional sail.
Director of Interactive Media Madalyn Painter joined the station in 2006, after working for three years as Online Communications Manager for KETC/Channel 9, St. Louis Public Television. Her professional awards include a 2005 APEX Award of Excellence for a Web site and two Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. She has lived in St. Louis since graduating in 2000 from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in Honors English and a minor in environmental studies. She enjoys gardening, viewing and creating art, living in St. Louis City, and listening to public radio. Her favorite KWMU radio shows are To the Best of Our Knowledge, Radio Lab, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and This American Life.
Corporate Accounts Manager Frank Pfau has been with KWMU for over five years. He began as an Account Executive in 2001 and became the Corporate Accounts Manager in 2003. Before joining KWMU, Frank had over ten years sales experience in industries ranging from healthcare, retail and customer service training materials. He’s a graduate of New England College in Henniker, NH where he earned a BA with a degree in "unemployme…err, …theatre."
When he’s not at KWMU, Frank likes (no, *loves*) to spend time with his family : wife Beth, daughter Emily and son Michael. His hobbies do not include quiet walks on the beach or cozy nights by the fire but do include listening to music as well as training for and participating in triathlons.
News Director Bill Raack has been in radio for over 20 years. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1983, he worked at commercial radio stations in Kansas and then Illinois. He moved to public radio in 1990, joining the staff of WILL-AM/FM in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, as a host/reporter and, later, news director in 1993. He returned to his hometown of St. Louis in 1995 as the local host of KWMU's Morning Edition program and also served as a reporter/producer until 1998, when he was named news director. Bill and his wife Kim have one son.
Program Director Mike Schrand began his radio career at KWMU as a live recording intern from 1986 to 1988. From 1988 to 1992, he acted as Jazz ‘Till Dawn producer and host and weekend announcer, occasional engineer for Jazzstream With Walter Parker and Jazz Unlimited and Morning Edition engineer and producer. From 1992 to 1995, Schrand worked in the corporate world, but returned as a weekend announcer in 1995. In 1996, Schrand was hired as KWMU Traffic Director and was promoted to Assistant Program Director in 1998 and Program Director in 2001. In his spare time he writes, sings, and plays bass in the local roots quartet Salt Of The Earth, and enjoys down time with his family in St. Louis City.
