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PACIFICA RADIO APPOINTS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Pacifica Appoints New CFO

March 3, 2003 Contact: danc@pacifica.org
For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, DC (Mar. 3) – The five-station Pacifica Radio network today appointed nonprofit accounting veteran Lonnie Hicks as Chief Financial Officer, Pacifica officials announced.

Hicks comes to Pacifica Radio following positions as chief financial and administrative officer of three multi-million dollar nonprofit agencies. Most recently, Hicks served a ten-year tenure with the San Francisco-based Family Services Agency, a $12 million organization offering a broad array of social services from child care to senior support.

"Lonnie brings to Pacifica a wealth of financial experience which we believe will be critical in rebuilding the network and restoring fiscal confidence," said Jabari Zakiya, the Treasurer of the interim Pacifica National Board.

The newly created CFO position at Pacifica, and opening it up to a nationwide search, is part of a network-wide effort aimed at strengthening internal accounting and financial systems, said Dan Coughlin, Pacifica’s Executive Director.

The network’s national finance office staff will be boosted in the year ahead and internal training programs reinforced, he said.

The nation’s oldest listener-sponsored broadcaster is still rebounding from a legal and political crisis that left the network last year with some $5 million in debt and a budget gap of $1.5 million. Deep cuts at the national level and a fundraising rally by listener supporters have sharply reduced the debt load. But a substantial burden remains and the network faces challenges with its internal accounting systems.

In addition, the network is planning growth in revenues to meet all of its obligations by the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2005.

"I’m thrilled to be part of Pacifica and to help put my own talents and experience into turning this historic institution around," said Hicks. "I’m excited to help build on the gains so that Pacifica can focus on its mission as an independent voice for peace and justice."

Hicks brings to Pacifica fifteen years of experience in senior nonprofit management. At the Family Service Agency, Hicks served five years as CFO and five years as the agencies’ Executive Director. During his tenure, Hicks won three awards for excellence from the City of San Francisco and the Board of Supervisors of the City of San Francisco.

Prior to joining the Family Services Agency, Hicks was CFO of Education, Training, and Research (ETR) in Santa Cruz, California, a publisher of health care materials and health monographs. While there, Hicks consolidated three separate companies into one non-profit organization.

Hicks has a BA and a MA in Government from Howard University, in Washington, DC, and an MBA from UC Berkeley. His special interests include poetry and fiction.

Hicks also worked at the California Nurses Association as the director of membership services. And while he was a student at UC Berkeley, Hicks worked at Ramparts Magazine as contributing writer and in the finance department.