NHPR is pleased to announce Zoë Kay has recently been promoted to Community Engagement and Marketing Manager. If you’ve been lucky enough to meet Zoë at an NHPR event, you’ll understand why she’s perfect for this position.
NHPR’s Beth Szelog interviewed Zoë. Take a moment to read Zoë’s answers and if you attend an NHPR event in the future, please say hello to Zoë!
Congratulations on your promotion as NHPR’s Community Engagement and Marketing Manager! Is this a newly created position at NHPR?
Thank you! Yes, this is a new position here at the station that was created in response to our audience’s excitement around NHPR’s live events.
What will your role entail?
I will be focused on strengthening NHPR’s capacity for in-person events and creating more community engagement opportunities for our journalists. I will also continue to work on marketing efforts across the station, making sure that the work of our journalists is known about far and wide.
What brought you to NHPR in the first place?
Before working here at NHPR, I taught 7th and 8th grade at a little nature-based Montessori school in the White Mountains. Throughout my time teaching I used NHPR as a steadfast resource. We listened to Civics 101 & discussed our government, we wrote stories in the style of The Moth & recorded our own ‘radio hour’, we talked about pop culture & listened to Terry Gross interview celebrities. In 2021, after a really difficult year of teaching, I decided that I was ready for a change. NHPR just happened to be hiring, and it felt serendipitous.
Tell us about yourself. Are you originally from New Hampshire?
I am from New Hampshire! I grew up in Dover. It was an idyllic city to grow up in – close to the ocean, still quiet & cozy. I went to school at Plymouth State and studied English. I’m a huge bookworm. I love to bake, I love thrift stores, coffee, and my cats. My favorite thing to do is laugh.
Can you describe yourself in three words?
Silly, sappy, colorful.
What is your passion?
My friends, my family, and all the joy I get to share with them.
What’s one thing you recommend everyone do or see in New Hampshire?
Ok so this may sound a little wild, but bear with me. New Hampshire has REALLY great haunted houses/haunted walks all throughout October. There’s Fright Kingdom in Nashua, Haunted Overload in Lee, Spooky World in Litchfield – all spots that folks come from all over the country to visit! My fiancé and I love to visit as many as we can throughout the autumn, trading in our usual date night for a little spooky fun.