About Kerry Swanson — Signal & Strategy LLC
About Kerry Swanson
Four decades. One mission.
Kerry Swanson has spent more than 40 years leading public media organizations through transformation, growth, and the hard decisions that define institutional futures.
Background
A career built inside the organizations I now advise.
I'm Kerry Swanson — Founder of Signal & Strategy LLC and a public media executive with more than 40 years of experience in organizational transformation, strategic planning, fundraising, operations, and digital innovation.
I've held executive leadership positions at KUOW (Seattle), Northwest Public Broadcasting, KPLU, and WABE, and served on the NPR Board of Directors. That experience — inside the boardrooms, budget cycles, and leadership transitions of public media — is what I bring to every engagement.
I founded Signal & Strategy LLC to put that experience directly in service of organizations facing the decisions that define their future. Whether I'm serving as an advisor, facilitator, interim executive, or executive coach, my goal is the same: help your organization align strategy, operations, and leadership to achieve measurable results.
Career highlights
Founder
Signal & Strategy LLC
Chief Operating Officer
KUOW, Seattle
Station Manager
Northwest Public Broadcasting
Board Member
NPR Board of Directors
Executive Leadership
KPLU, Seattle/Tacoma
Executive Leadership
WABE, Atlanta
My approach
A partner, not just a consultant.
The best strategic advice comes from someone who's genuinely invested in your success — and who understands the specific pressures, stakeholders, and constraints of public media. I don't hand you a report and walk away. I work alongside your team until the strategy is real, the leadership is aligned, and the organization is moving forward.
"Public media organizations don't just need strategy. They need someone who has lived it."
— Kerry Swanson
Ready to work together?
If you're navigating a leadership transition, a governance challenge, or a strategic inflection point, I'd welcome the conversation.