WERU names new general manager
On-air host Kristen Spalding to take the helm in August
July 8, 2026
By John Boit
Spalding is one of several rotating hosts for the station’s music show “Sunday Morning Coffee House.” Photo by Kristi Kellas.
EAST ORLAND–The board of directors for WERU Community Radio has announced that Kristen Spalding, of Orland, will become the next general manager of the station, taking the helm in late August.
A graduate of Colby College, Spalding, who grew up in Bucksport, has most recently worked in development at Bagaduce Music in Blue Hill. She has also worked part-time as a real estate appraiser.
“I love the broad scope of WERU and the amazing outreach,” Spalding, 41, told The Rising Tide. “I love that it covers music, public affairs, storytelling, psychology – anything you can think of that is relevant and reflects the people here. I love that it strives for diversity while also being uplifting while it informs. I think the mission and values of WERU are just golden…It feels very natural to me to commit myself to working there in order to ensure it continues to thrive.”
Since 2022, Spalding has also been among the regular rotations of on-air hosts for the station’s music show “Sunday Morning Coffee House.”
Earlier this year, general manager Matt Murphy announced his retirement after leading the station for nearly three decades, rising from volunteer to general manager.
“For 27 years I have had the honor, privilege, and joy of serving as General Manager of WERU,” Murphy said in a press release. “I feel the time has come for me to pass the torch on to the next generation of leadership of this great organization.”
Murphy said he first met Spalding at a Bangor concert several years ago and “immediately sized her up” as someone who should be involved in WERU.
“I think that she has both the heart and the head for this job. Not only is she a lovely and caring person, she is also very smart. She has a great emotional IQ. She really believes in the mission, and the people and the community, and that all fits together in a nice way with her. I couldn’t be happier that she was the one the board selected,” Murphy said in an interview with The Rising Tide.
“I don’t have any kids but I’m sort of having a proud papa moment,” he added.
Paul Anderson, the station’s board president, said in a release that Spalding is the right person to build on the foundation laid by Murphy.
“[W]e are confident that she will continue to build on Matt’s many successes expanding our listenership, building our robust pool of volunteer programmers, and securing the financial support from the people and communities we serve,” Anderson said.
The station said in its release that the “past 12 months has been a landmark year.” Congress defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which resulted in the loss of a community service grant amounting to 20 percent of WERU’s annual revenue. Listeners answered the call, driving the station’s most successful fundraising year in its history. Today, 80 percent of the station’s revenue “comes directly from listener memberships and donations,” the release said.
Spalding will join the station on Aug. 1 for its annual summer membership drive, which lasts a week. She will then start the job full time on Aug. 24.
WERU has been broadcasting since 1988 as an independent, listener-supported and volunteer-powered media organization, whose mission is “to provide diverse programming to lift spirits, raise awareness and make connections.” Its studios are located in East Orland and it transmits its radio signal from the top of Blue Hill Mountain.
In the announcement of her new position, Spalding said “the station is a reflection of who we are and what we strive to be, not just as people of this region, but as people of this very connected planet. I have no doubt that WERU will continue to be essential to our connectivity as a source of information, opportunity, and as a cultural nexus.”