MONTCLAIR, N.J. — NJ PBS has announced six staff appointments that will support its newsroom, programming, audience development, digital content and media operations. This includes:
Samantha Bennet, Audience and Marketing Director.
Walik Cotton, Media Manager.
Deb Finan, Programming Director.
Brent Sanchez, Digital Content Producer.
Ashlee Smith, General Manager.
Omnika Thompson, News Director.
Short bios for each new staff member are below. These first six hires represent a new beginning for NJ PBS, as the station transitions to being fully operated by Montclair State University. Montclair was named the new operator of the four television stations licensed to the State of New Jersey as of July 1, 2026; the University takes over full control of programming and the daily newscast from former operator WNET Oct. 1, 2026.
“The future of NJ PBS begins with a team that understands the responsibility and the opportunity of public media,” said Keith Strudler, Dean of Montclair State University’s College of Communication and Media. “These first hires bring the experience, imagination and commitment to public service we need to reach New Jersey residents across broadcast, digital and community platforms, and to deliver journalism and programming that reflect the breadth of voices across our state.”
Additional hires will be announced in the coming weeks.
Bennet will lead NJ PBS’s membership development, audience growth and marketing. She previously served as vice president of operations and programs at BlueLena, where she developed automation and marketing solutions for small and community news publishers. Her background also includes local news partnerships and programming at Meta and social strategy for CBS local television stations.
Cotton brings nearly a decade of experience in media production, broadcast operations and digital content management. He previously worked at NJ PBS under the WNET Group as a media and broadcast services specialist and spent nearly four years at MLB Network as a media management specialist. His experience also includes production, content creation and live-game media operations with the NBA and production and operations work with Rutgers Television. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies from Rutgers University and studied abroad at John Cabot University in Rome.
Finan joins NJ PBS as programming director. She previously worked as head of Development for MSNBC’s streaming channel where she managed the day-of-air production team and worked on breaking news and special event coverage. Prior to that, Finan served as head of Production & Programming for MSNBC and was responsible for the creation and execution of program scheduling for live and documentary production. Finan has a BA in Communication from Rutgers University, and is looking forward to bringing her experience in live and taped show production, special events and election coverage to this new role.
Sanchez will help grow and shape NJ PBS’s digital and social media presence, create original video and graphic content and bring newsroom reporting to broader audiences across digital platforms. He began his career as a graphics producer before spending seven years in digital media roles at Yahoo Finance, most recently as social media and graphics editor. A New Jersey native, he lives in Waldwick with his wife and daughter.
Smith joins NJ PBS from WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University, where she served as senior director of content and education. In that role, she oversaw television production, radio news, classical music and education and led a team serving audiences across broadcast, digital, social and community platforms. She is pursuing an Executive Master of Organization Development and Change at Bowling Green State University.
Thompson brings more than three decades of experience leading journalism across broadcast, streaming, digital and social platforms, including a 31-year career at NBC News and MSNBC. Her senior roles included executive editor for inclusion and NBCU Academy, senior executive producer of MSNBC weekend programming and interim executive producer of NBC News NOW’s Top Story with Tom Llamas. A longtime Montclair State University mentor and collaborator, she has helped connect professional newsrooms with aspiring journalists.
Together, the appointments bring experience across content, journalism, programming, audience development and media operations to NJ PBS.
The new leadership team is actively recruiting for additional roles which can be found on Montclair’s job board.
Media Contact: Keith Green, Director of Communications and Strategic Operations, College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University: [email protected] or 973-655-3701.