LAist and Southern California Public Radio Names Alejandra Santamaria President and CEO

LAist and Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) has named Alejandra Santamaria as president and CEO.

Santamaria most recently served as the interim president, general manager and VP, and director of sales for Univision Los Angeles. She succeeds Herb Scannell who recently retired. Santamaria will join SCPR in July, which operates all LAist properties including LAist Studios, the news organization’s podcast arm. 

“Los Angeles is my home and I am thrilled to lead one of the premier mission driven organizations serving my community. My career has been aligned with a media organization that has meant a lot to me because of their mission to empower, educate and inform Latinos like my own family,” Santamaria said in a statement. “I am ready to bring those skills and passion to LAist. The reporting LAist is doing is some of the best in the world. Now it’s our job to shine a brighter light on great reporting and continue to be a resource for Angelenos.” 

“Alex is the leader LAist needs today and for the future,” SCPR board chair Drew Murphy added.  “Public radio remains a vital, important part of the Los Angeles media ecosystem and we are confident that her experience and talent is ideal to shepherd us forward, helping us to deliver on our mission, while remaining financially sound, in order to continue our role as an essential resource for our community.” 

Santamaria was born and raised in Los Angeles and will bring a deep knowledge of the local media landscape to the role. 

In her previous role with Univision, Santamaria led sales and operations for the network’s flagship local television station KMEX, UniMas KFTR, KLVE-FM, KSCA-FM, KRCD/V-FM and KTNQ-AM radio stations and a suite of digital properties in the Los Angeles market. 

She also previously served as the president and general manager of Univision Arizona. Santamaria is the founding member of Univision’s Women’s Leadership Council, an employee resource group. She additionally served on the boards of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the L.A. County Economic Development Corporation. 

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