Born in East Houston, Ernesto Aguilar’s life was transformed by public media. His career has traversed daily newspapers and alternative weeklies to public radio news and program director roles. At KQED, he oversees radio broadcast content and DEI initiatives in the organization’s Content division. He is also former co-chair of KQED’s DEI Council, which represents staff on matters of trust, belonging and DEI at the organization. In his spare time, he writes OIGO, a newsletter that highlights professional stories and case studies related to public media and diverse audiences. Prior to KQED, Aguilar served stations as executive director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, where he convened station meetings around DEI and wrote training materials on DEI for stations. A Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Fellow, Sulzberger Executive Leadership Fellow, and Public Media CEO/COO Bootcamp graduate, Aguilar has a B.A. in journalism, with minors in sociology and Women’s Studies from the University of Houston.