Who We Are

Co-managing Directors Marc Hand and Ken Ikeda have complementary backgrounds for organizing an ecosystem of partners and services to increase public media's reach and impact in local communities. Ken's experience is in directing new media technology and arts organizations focused on story-driven social change and engagement platforms as well as the cultivation of emerging, independent producers. Combined with Marc's 30 years of experience in public media acquisition, management and operations, they are uniquely suited to act on new opportunities for building public media's strong future.

Marc Hand, PMC Co-managing Director

Prior to founding PMC in 2011 and serving as its Co-managing Director, Marc co-founded Public Radio Capital and has spent the past ten years as PRC's Co-managing Director. Currently, Marc divides his time equally between PRC and PMC, working at each organization. At PRC, Marc has built strategic public radio alliances, educated financial institutions on public radio investments and overseen public radio transactions. During his 30 years in the Radio Industry, Marc has held various positions including: Managing Partner and co-owner of a group of commercial stations in Colorado; Vice President of Questcom Radio Brokerage representing station owners in sales, acquisitions, mergers and financial restructurings; Executive Director of Western Community Bilingual radio; founder of four stations; and consultant for CPB, NPR, and NFCB. Marc spent five years at the Station Resource Group (SRG) helping public radio stations expand services via acquisitions, collaborations and partnerships, which led to the development of PRC.

Ken Ikeda, PMC Co-managing Director

Prior to joining PMC, Ken was Executive Director of Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), an organization devoted to "inspire social change by enabling the sharing of diverse stories through art, education and technology." He led BAVC through a creative transformation, co-architecting the public interest media and educational network, National Public Lightpath, launching the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies and developing the Digital Pathways program for thousands of Bay Area youth to move from digital media training to continued education and employment. His leadership efforts while at BAVC were recognized by the MacArthur Foundation's "genius award" for organizations, now titled the Creative and Effective Institutions Award. He currently serves on a number of boards, including the Center for Asian American Media, The Working Group and Youth Speaks. Ken was founder and Executive Director of Youth Sounds, a community media and arts program to promote youth through professional filmmaking, audio engineering and performance which merged with BAVC in 2006. He completed his master's degree in Education Anthropology at Stanford University and his undergraduate studies at Columbia University.

Public Media Company Board Members

Farnum Brown, Boston, Mass., is Vice President of Trillium Asset Management, the oldest and largest independent investment advisory devoted exclusively to socially responsible investing. Farnum has managed socially responsible investment portfolios for clients in the music and film industries for 20 years.  He founded and serves as Board Chair for the Open Media and Information Companies Initiative (Open MIC), a non-profit organization that promotes diversity in media through market-based solutions.  In a former life, Farnum was a music critic whose work appeared in Mother Jones, Vibe and the NC Independent Weekly.

Marc Hand, San Francisco, Calif., (Co-managing Director) has responsibility for overseeing PMC's radio ownership and operations. Marc has extensive experience in public and commercial radio operations and management, as well as representing station owners in sales, acquisitions, mergers and financial restructurings. He is also co-managing Director of Public Radio Capital and divides his time between the two organizations.

Ken Ikeda, Oakland, Calif., (Co-managing Director) has primary responsibility for business development, television operations, new media and public media audience engagement.  Prior to joining PMC as Co-managing Director, Ken was the executive director of Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), an organization that brought communities together through storytelling and effective utilization of technology. He has served as a fellow for the Future of Public Media Working Group at American University's Center for Social Media, co-authored the public media broadband report National Public Lightpath, and served as an advisor to WGBH's The World. He is also co-managing Director of Public Radio Capital and divides his time between the two organizations.

Fred Marienthal, Denver, Colo., (Secretary/Treasurer) is a partner in Kutak Rock LLP's Denver office, awarded top legal business for innovation by Colorado Biz in 2010. Fred's practice is focused on higher education facility financings, conduit private activity bonds, nonprofit facility financings and single-family mortgage revenue bonds. He routinely serves as bond, disclosure and underwriter's counsel on tax-exempt bond financings for public and nonprofit colleges and universities, charter and independent schools and charitable organizations. He serves as a board member for the Colorado Municipal Bond Supervision Advisory Board, Kitchen Sisters Productions, Thistle Communities and as chair of the Community Board of Friends' School.

Leo Martinez, San Francisco, Calif., is Professor of Law and former Academic Dean at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He writes and lectures on insurance, tax and other subjects and is a member of the American Law Institute and the Association of American Law Schools Executive Committee. He serves on Public Radio Capital's board, which he chaired for three years.

Jan Nicholson New York, N.Y., (Chair) is the President of The Grable Foundation, a private charitable foundation in Pittsburgh, Pa. dedicated to helping children and youth by improving their educational opportunities. Jan is a director of Ball Corporation and Radian Group, Inc. In 2000 she retired from a career in finance, spent principally at Citicorp. She serves on the boards of the Tri-State Area's Regional Plan Association, and MDRC, a social policy research organization. She previously served on the board of Public Radio Capital which she also chaired.