Cambridge Community Television has found its third executive director in Jessica Smyser, the leader of an arts and education nonprofit in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who before that worked in the Cambridge and Somerville music industry.
She succeeds Susan Fleischmann, who joined CCTV’s staff at its founding in 1988 and has served as executive director for 27 years. Fleischmann announced in July her decision to retire, promising her continued help as a member of the community and in the board of directors’ national search for her replacement, which began in early August.
For eight years Smyser was a leader at the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, a nonprofit founded by composers Aaron Stern and Leonard Bernstein. Four years ago she added the role of adjunct professor, teaching leadership and nonprofit management in the Van Loan School of Professional Studies at Endicott College. Endicott is based in Beverly.
Smyser – with degrees from Smith College and Claremont Lincoln University, according to a Wednesday press release from CCTV – had lived in Cambridge for more than a decade while working as a marketing director at Cambridge-based Rounder Records and as general manager at Somerville-based Q Division.
In that time, she was also a member of CCTV.
“I’ve long admired both the excellence of CCTV’s programming and the importance of their mission. CCTV’s work to nurture a strong, equitable and diverse community by fostering free speech, civic engagement and creative expression is more relevant today than ever. I’m thrilled to be a leader in CCTV’s next stage of innovation, and look forward to contributing to CCTV’s long-term sustainability, ensuring access and excellence for years to come,” Smyser said in the press release.
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