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Transom Talk Special Guests Bios
 Ellen Rocco
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Ellen Rocco
Back to Ellen Rocco's Topic
I was born and raised in NYC. Manhattan. Red diaper baby. Attended my
first (in my memory) peace march at about 10, sponsored by SANE. Went
on to many more marches and demonstrations including the "I have a
dream" march on Washington in '63, Selma a couple of years later,
actions in Harlem while I was a student at CCNY, and countless
anti-war activities during the Vietnam era. I received a BA in
Political Science in 1967. During college and in the years
immediately after, I worked with the Academy of American Poets,
overseeing the young poets in the schools program; I bartended; I
helped organize a museum tour for artist Peter Max; and I put in
about 10 months as a caseworker for the NYC Department of Social
Services. Somewhere in there I went to Europe for a year and felt
embarrassed to be an American. That's how it was then.
I moved to the North Country, on the border between NYS and Ontario,
north of the Adirondacks in the St. Lawrence Valley, in 1971. I
bought an old farm. I worked as a bartender, waitress, legal
assistant, substitute teacher, and project manager for a senior
citizens/low income block grant. At the same time, I was president of
a regional safe/alternative energy organization and active in the
women's rights movement.
In 1980, I was hired as North Country Public Radio's first
development director; promoted to station manager in 1985. During my
tenure-and with the work of the world's most amazing staff-we have
expanded our service to reach one-quarter of NYS, much of western
Vermont, and portions of Ontario and Quebec through a network of 20
repeaters. Over the last 15 years, we have committed station
resources to local news and production departments. Of this, I am
most proud. Likewise, the creation of an extraordinary Website - just
last year. ncpr.org.
I've worked on a lot of production projects over the years-some for
broadcast only, most with outreach components as well. I served on
the Board of the NY Council for the Humanities, on media panels for
the NYS Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Council for the
Arts, and occasionally on panels or advisory groups formed by CPB or
NPR.
Community stuff: I've served on the boards of regional environmental,
arts and social issues organizations (e.g., Planned Parenthood,
Upstate People for Safe Energy Technology, Adirondack Center for
Writing). I just completed (oh, praise be, praise be) a six-year tour
of duty as school board member in my son's district.
Join us for a conversation with Ellen Rocco.
Ellen Rocco Links
North Country Public Radio: www.ncpr.org
Transom Talk Special Guests Bios Ellen Rocco
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