MPR appoints Jeff Hnilicka and Ellie McKinney as Co-directors of Events and Performance Programs

Jul 10, 2014

Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media (MPR/APM) has named Jeff Hnilicka (NIL-ik-ah) and Ellie McKinney as co-directors of live events. Hnilicka and McKinney will job share the role, which is responsible for all MPR/APM live events, the custom travel program and MPR's Fitzgerald Theater.

Hnilicka comes to MPR/APM from Kulture Klub Collaborative, a groundbreaking arts program connecting youth experiencing homelessness and professional artists in the Twin Cities, where he was executive director. Prior to that role, he was company manager for J. Mandle Performance in New York City and visitor services manager at the Walker Art Center. He has served on advisory panels for the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Minnesota State Arts Board, COMPAS (Community Programs in the Arts), and the board for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. He also has lectured on arts and economics at the University of Minnesota, New York University, and New York Foundation for the Arts. Hnilicka holds a bachelor of theater arts from the University of Minnesota and was a recent fellow in the Creative Community Leadership Institute, a program of the Bush Foundation & Intermedia Arts.

McKinney returns to the Twin Cities after spending the last two years in New York City, where she was the director of visitor services at MoMA PS1, one of the oldest, and largest contemporary art institutions in the U.S., welcoming nearly 200,000 visitors annually. In her role, she oversaw all visitor, event and front-of-house operations and worked as a producer on the annual summer music series Warm Up. Previously, she was the general manager of MPR's Fitzgerald Theater and assistant director of visitor services at the Walker Art Center, where she worked closely with Hnilicka on various projects. McKinney holds a bachelor of fine arts, art history from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

"Ellie and Jeff share the value of serving our audiences with creative, thoughtful and inspiring content while expanding our public service--a value that all of us at MPR/APM embrace," said Tim Roesler, senior vice president and chief business development officer. "They have successfully navigated complex and challenging events situations, while keeping community impact at the heart of their programming and building net revenue into each business model."