Kaari Pitkin

Kaari Pitkin is senior producer for Radio Rookies, a New York Public Radio initiative that provides teenagers with the tools and training to create radio stories about themselves, their communities and their world. Pitkin first became interested in radio at the age of thirteen, when a radio host told her she had a good voice for the air.  Now, of course, it’s not her voice on the radio but the Radio Rookies, and she loves nothing more than helping them tell their stories. 

Kaari started at WNYC in 1997 as an intern in the newsroom and went on from there to become the newsroom’s senior producer, covering everything from mayoral races to the arts to the attacks on September 11. She made the move to WNYC’s youth media project in 2005 and has since then has led Radio Rookies to double the number of youth it works with annually, while continuing to produce high impact, thought-provoking documentaries that bring youth reported stories to the air.  The Radio Rookies features have been recognized by several national journalism awards including the National Edward R. Murrow Award, the RFK Journalism Award, and most recently as a finalist for the Alfred I. Dupont Award.