PRI welcomes Marguerite Steed Hoffman to its Board of Directors

Public Radio International (PRI) announces the appointment of Marguerite Steed Hoffman to its Board of Directors. A respected leader in business and philanthropy, Hoffman chairs Custom Food Group, a vending company that has been owned by the Hoffman family for two decades. She is also an active board member for a range of nonprofits, serving civic, arts and health organizations throughout the United States and in Africa. Her term on the PRI Board of Directors begins immediately, having been approved by the Board at its March meeting.

"Marguerite's work in the nonprofit sector is exceptional," says Alisa Miller, PRI president and CEO. "Her experience in business and her commitment to philanthropy will be invaluable to ongoing assessments of PRI policy and strategy. I look forward to the many contributions she'll make as a Board member, helping PRI advance Americans' understanding of our diverse, interdependent world."

Hoffman says, "I am honored to serve on the Board of an organization that I have long admired. For years, I have benefited from PRI's outstanding programs. Serving on the Board is a way that I can repay the many moments of education, illumination and pure enjoyment that listening to PRI has afforded me and so many others, helping us chart a personal road map in our challenging and ever changing world."

Hoffman's civic and community service is extensive. She has chaired the boards of three major non-profits: Planned Parenthood of Northeast Texas, Child Care Group and the Dallas Museum of Art. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Dignitas International, a medical humanitarian organization working in Africa, and on the boards of The Hockaday School, the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College and the Dallas Museum of Art. She is also on the Advisory Committee of the Art Museums at Harvard, the Dallas Women's Foundation, Parkland Hospital and Planned Parenthood.

A University of Oklahoma alumna, Hoffman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics. She then earned an M.A. in Art History from the University of Virginia. In 1980, she moved to Washington, D.C., and started an art tour company called Arts Alive, Inc., which she led for three years before moving to Dallas. She was director of Marketing and Public Relations at the Dallas Museum of Art and became an art gallery director and private dealer. She has a daughter and two step-daughters. In her spare time, she enjoys art collecting, travel and ping-pong.

About Public Radio International®
Founded in 1983, Public Radio International leads media by producing, acquiring and distributing innovative content that enables U.S. audiences to "hear a different voice™," bringing new voices, global journalism and cultural perspectives to the American public. Through partnerships with BBC World Service and station-based and independent producers, the Minneapolis-based media leader provides more than 400 hours of content each week, broadcast to 31.4 million listeners* through over 800 public radio stations and available through podcasts, streaming and on-demand through its Web site, pri.org. PRI's content is heard by more than 12 million* people each week through these collective sources.
*Source: Arbitron Nationwide/Act 1 Systems, Persons 12+ in DMA, Mon-Sun 24 hours, Fall '08.

PRI is known for driving innovation in public radio through partnerships with stations, independent producers and other organizations, and for working collaboratively to pool resources, share risk and cultivate new talent. Its newest production is "The Takeaway," a groundbreaking morning-drive news show produced with WNYC Radio. PRI's best known offerings include "This American Life," produced by Chicago Public Radio; PRI's "The World," a co-production of BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Radio Boston; "Living on Earth," produced by World Media Foundation Inc.; "Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?," produced by Wisconsin Public Radio; "The Tavis Smiley Show," produced by Smiley Radio Properties Inc.; and "Studio 360 from PRI and WNYC®," produced by PRI and WNYC; as well as 24-hour program services — "Classical 24," produced by American Public Media; and BBC World Service, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. For more information on PRI and its programs and services, visit www.pri.org.

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All press inquiries about PRI and/or programs should be directed to:

Julia Yager
Communications/PR
Public Radio International (PRI)
v: 612.330.9231   e: jyager@pri.org