Katherine Maher
President and Chief Executive Officer
Katherine Maher is the President and CEO of NPR, with deep experience leading public interest institutions through technological disruption and strategic transformation. Her areas of expertise include information and media, good governance and democracy, civil and human rights, international development and foreign policy.
Prior to joining NPR, Maher was CEO of Web Summit. She served as CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation for five years, leading Wikipedia, one of the world's most popular digital platforms. She led Wikipedia to its highest public trust since its founding. Before Wikimedia, Maher was at Access Now, the World Bank, the National Democratic Institute, and UNICEF.
Maher is the Chair of the Board of Signal Foundation, responsible for the secure, private Signal Messenger, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project. From 2022 to 2024 she served as an advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State's Foreign Affairs Policy Board. She serves on the boards of the Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumer Reports, and Adventure Scientists, Web Summit, and System. She is also a trustee of the American University of Beirut.