Dru Sefton, a news editor and national correspondent for the Newhouse newspaper chain’s Washington bureau until it closed this month, came to Current this month as senior editor, covering public policy, baked goods and other beats. Sefton has reported for more than two decades for newspapers in the Chicago area, the Kansas City Star, USA Today and, since 2000, for Newhouse.
She wrote, according to the Nexis news database, the first national feature explaining “chads,” a Florida voting phenomenon during the Long Night of the Polls in 2000, and is author of a book on the legendary quilting patterns printed for five decades in the Star.
Ronald P. Woods has joined Current as business/circulation director, responsible for general business management, subscription sales and distribution. He succeeds Kelsang Menla, who is now living and working in Baltimore (see below). Woods comes from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where he was business manager of its Center for Preservation Leadership.
Woods has worked as office manager and program coordinator for several nonprofits and public-sector entities, including the Illinois Psychological Association, the McKinney (Texas) Performing Arts Center and VSAArts, an arts education group in Washington. Woods, a Virginia native, also works in theater as an actor, director, writer and fundraiser.
Best wishes to two Current mainstays who left the staff this month to take new positions out of town.
Jeremy Egner, an associate editor for more than four years (photo at left), has joined the New York Times, where he is an online producer. Jeremy covered new-media developments, the DTV ramp-up, the Tomlinson affair and many other topics since arriving in 2004 from the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.
Kelsang Menla, our business/circulation director (photo at rigth), is now working as events coordinator for the Vikatadamshtri Buddhist Center in Baltimore. For more than five years he’s been an active volunteer staff member of its parent group in Washington, the Vajrayogini Buddhist Center—both centers are members of the New Kadampa Tradition of Buddhism. Menla first came to Current five years ago as a part-time business staffer and returned in 2006 as advertising/production director. He moved to the business/circulation job last year.
Web page revised Nov. 25, 2008
Current: the newspaper about public TV and radio
in the United States
Current LLC, Takoma Park, MD