Ann Ahl
Ann Ahl started working in video production houses and television newsrooms while in college at Duke University. Her experience as a news writer, producer, and reporter includes stops at WBZ Radio in Boston, DWJ TV in Washington, D.C., and WHYY’s “Delaware Tonight.” Over the last 20 years, Ahl has covered general assignment news and provided specialized coverage of issues from the environment and health to arts and culture. At “Delaware Tonight,” she produced and reported a series on teenage drug use and a monthly segment on special places and people in Delaware’s heritage. She produced award-winning “Experience” segments spotlighting artists and arts institutions in Delaware.
Ahl has received numerous awards from the Philadelphia Society of Professional Journalists and the Delaware Press Association, as well as two Telly Awards and the Clarion Award, the top honor from Women in Communications.
In addition to her career in television news, Ahl worked as an advertising account executive at Lyons Marketing. In conjunction with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, she wrote, co-produced, and marketed a best-selling child safety video that won a Parent’s Choice Award, the nation’s highest honor given for excellence in parenting information.
Micheline Boudreau
Micheline Boudreau is president and founder of Delaware First Media. Her career in public broadcasting spans radio, television, and the web. A veteran of the NPR flagship station WBUR in Boston, Boudreau helped create the award-winning NPR news program “On Point.” At the then-fledgling Rhode Island public radio station WRNI, Boudreau produced the daily local radio news magazine, “One Union Station,” named Best Local Radio Show by Rhode Island Magazine.
As News Director for Television at WHYY, Boudreau oversaw a significant increase in staff, budgets, and news content at the nightly newscast “Delaware Tonight.” She developed and launched the program’s news website in 2003. She created the acclaimed “Experience Delaware” arts segment. She planned, built, and managed WHYY’s Dover News Bureau. Boudreau created strategic partnerships for “Delaware Tonight” with entities including the University of Delaware, the Delaware Business Ledger, and the Delaware Heritage Commission.
Boudreau’s work has been honored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Delaware Press Association, the Massachusetts Associated Press Broadcasters, Public Radio News Directors, and the National Federation of Press Women.
Liane Hansen
Liane Hansen is a prominent American journalist and Emmy Award-winning radio personality with a devoted nationwide following from her 22 years as host of the popular NPR program “Weekend Edition Sunday.” Hansen was a part of Delaware life for decades before deciding to retire from NPR and relocate here from Washington, D.C. She joined the board of Delaware First Media in 2012, supporting the launch of WDDE 91.1 FM, the first-ever Delaware-based NPR News station.
Hansen’s career as a broadcast reporter, producer, and on-air host started at WSKG in Binghamton, N.Y., and took off in 1979, when she became a substitute host for NPR’s “Fresh Air” in Philadelphia. Hansen went on to host NPR’s award-winning classical music and arts program “Performance Today,” as well as serving as weekend host of “All Things Considered” and a regular guest host for NPR’s newsmagazines.
With her signature voice and her ability to engage her guests in lively, meaningful conversations, Hansen attracted a “Weekend Edition Sunday” audience that grew to 3.5 million during her tenure.
Hansen has interviewed countless national and international political figures, including South African President Nelson Mandela, Pakistani President Benazir Bhutto, and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, as well as entertainers from Samuel L. Jackson to Quincy Jones, Ringo Starr, and Kurt Elling.
A native of Worcester, Mass., Hansen attended the University of Hartford in Connecticut and acts with several local companies. Her voice can be heard on documentaries, films, and audio books.
Nancy Karibjanian
Nancy Karibjanian is vice-president of Delaware First Media and has been with Delaware First Media since its founding in 2009. She is an adjunct professor of communication at the University of Delaware, teaching Field Production for Television News.
Karibjanian has been the face of Delaware television news for more than two decades, best known as the anchor of WHYY’s former nightly news program “Delaware Tonight.” During her 24-year tenure in public broadcasting, Karibjanian helped reshape local news to a mix of daily news and in-depth coverage of issues affecting The First State.
Her broadcasting career includes anchoring, reporting, producing, and news staff management. Before coming to WHYY, Karibjanian worked as a freelance producer, radio journalist, and cable newscaster in New Jersey. She joined WHYY in 1985, reporting on the Delaware Legislature. Since then she has covered elections, presidential visits, and the 2008 vice-presidential debate. She has hosted numerous Delaware political debates. In 2010 she moderated the state’s U.S. House debate and was co-moderator, along with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, of Delaware’s U.S. Senate debate, which received worldwide attention. The 2010 Delaware Debates were co-hosted by Delaware First Media and the University of Delaware and produced by DFM.
Karibjanian has interviewed members of the U.S. Congress, governors, corporate CEOs, and countless Delaware newsmakers. But she also is known for her reporting on remarkable Delawareans outside the limelight.
Dennis Rochford
Dennis Rochford is president of the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, a nonprofit trade association serving port businesses throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Rochford has worked successfully to increase the profile of the Maritime Exchange nationally and throughout the tristate region. He led the development of Maritime On-Line, a computer network that captures and disseminates maritime information among port-related businesses and federal agencies.
Rochford is a founding member and past president of the National Association of Maritime Organizations and serves as chairman of the North Atlantic Ports Association Maritime Committee. He serves on the boards of the American Institute for International Steel, the Chilean American Chamber of Commerce, the PenJerDel Council, the Ports of Philadelphia Maritime Society, and the Port of Wilmington Maritime Society. Rochford was elected a Member of the American Bureau of Shipping in 2001. He also serves on the board of directors of the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, and is a member of the Delaware Health Care Commission. Rochford is Chairman of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council.
Susan Swan
Susan Swan has been a journalist and free-lance writer/editor for more than 30 years, working in print and radio. Starting as a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor in Boston, she became a writer, editor,and producer for the newspaper’s nationally syndicated radio news service, also working in radio marketing operations. She later served as a National News editor, handling general and special assignment stories from the Washington Bureau and regional bureaus throughout the country, with a focus on coverage of Congress, education, and environmental issues. As a senior editor, she was responsible for the newspaper’s premier features.
Swan also had a long career in editing, writing, project management, marketing, and corporate organizational design for the nation’s major textbook publishing companies, helping to develop award-winning multimedia history programs.
A University of Delaware graduate in political science and journalism, Swan returned to Delaware after her years in Boston and pursued a free-lance career. Her work includes stints with a range of enterprises, including Houghton Mifflin; Pearson/Prentice Hall; Holt, Rinehart & Winston; the Museum of Science, Boston; and Delaware State University. She also served as press coordinator for the Delaware Department of State.
