KMUN station manager Nystrom to step down

After nearly five years at the helm, Graham Nystrom is stepping down as station manager for KMUN. Susan Peterson, development director for KMUN, will take his place.

Nystrom, a musician and live sound and recording engineer, previously worked as technical director for Live Wire Radio and Oregon Public Broadcasting. He was hired as KMUN's operations manager in 2015 and took over as station manager in 2017. Under his leadership, KMUN regained significant financial and operational stability. Nystrom also planned and helped fundraise for major technical improvements at the station.

All of this work came at a cost, though. Nystrom says he has increasingly felt the toll of job-related stress and now wants to step back and evaluate what comes next.

"I came into the position planning on giving it five years," he said. "I'm at four and half now and I've accomplished the bulk of my goals — and then some."

Nystrom will continue as station manager through May to make the transition as smooth as possible. He hopes to remain involved with KMUN in the future and support station operations in an engineering role.

Peterson has agreed to step into the role of station manager for at least the next two years to ease the transition. Peterson has worked for KMUN since 2013. She says she is excited about the opportunity to lead the station and is honored to follow in Nystrom's footsteps, and those of former station manager Joanne Rideout.