About Ken Stern

Ken Stern, Chair

Ken Stern is the President of Palisades Media and the Founder and Chair of the Longevity Project, which he launched in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity. The Longevity Project fosters public conversation and research on the impact on longer lives on civil society. Stern is the host of multiple podcasts, including Century Lives and When I’m 64, from the Stanford Center on Longevity. He is also the chair of ASCEND, an organization dedicated to building a new leadership culture for American business.

Stern is a national best-selling author of Republican Like Me (HarperCollins 2017) and With Charity for All (Doubleday 2013). He is also a regular correspondent on political and business issues for Vanity Fair and has also been a frequent contributor to publications such as The Atlantic, Slate, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

He was previously the CEO of National Public Radio. During his tenure, NPR’s audience more than doubled, to more than 26 million weekly listeners. Among his achievements at NPR was the launch of NPR’s award-winning podcast service, as well as NPR Music, mobile offerings, and the successful expansion of NPR.org. During a period of significant retrenchment at major news outlets, Stern led the dramatic expansion of NPR News, both domestically and abroad, and its evolution as a key daily news source to tens of millions of people.

Prior to joining NPR, Stern was a senior executive in American International Broadcasting. Earlier in his career, he held positions in Democratic politics. He began his media career with Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty in Munich. Stern, a lawyer by training, holds degrees from Haverford College and Yale Law School. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife Beth Cooper and their son Nate.