Breeze Richardson
Executive DirectorBreeze Richardson has served as the Executive Director of Aspen Public Radio since June 2021. Highly-respected in public media for her strategic planning and communications background, she has a passion for creating community-led programming. Since arriving in the Roaring Fork Valley, Breeze has been on stage exploring disability and inclusion with 1A’s Jenn White, moderated numerous author talks for Aspen Words, and staged local events with NPR's Ailsa Chang and Mary Louise Kelly.
Breeze is a fierce advocate for local journalism and is a national leader in strengthening public radio's role in emergency preparedness, especially in rural communities. She currently serves as President of the Rocky Mountain Community Radio coalition and is an elected member of the Western States Public Radio Board of Directors.
She is a proud alumni of Aspen Institute's Hurst Leaders Forum, has completed the Public Media Diversity Leaders Initiative (PMDLI) hosted by the Riley Institute at Furman University, and was recently selected for the 2025 Public Media Executive Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative at the Poynter Institute.
Breeze began her career at WBEZ 91.5 FM/Chicago Public Media, where she worked for over decade in a variety of roles, including daily show production, StoryCorps producer, community engagement researcher, and director of strategic partnerships. Throughout her tenure at WBEZ, Breeze fostered collaborative relationships with significant cultural institutions and community organizations, and produced over 45 live events for nearly 30,000 participants. Before coming to Aspen, Breeze worked as director of marketing and communications at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, MO, and from 2013-2017 she worked for the Kansas Board of Regents, gaining extensive experience in state government communications and higher education while serving as the agency’s public information officer.
Breeze received a master’s degree in public policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and American Studies from the University of Kansas. She enjoys exploring the valley with her husband, Kelsey, and teenage boys, Gus and Iggy.
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Listen in for a conversation with 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize ceremony moderator, novelist and host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Mary Louise Kelly. -
2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize winner, Jamil Jan Kochai talks at the Pitkin County Library on his new book “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak." The talk was moderated by Aspen Public Radio’s Executive Director, Breeze Richardson. -
Listen in to this radio-rich exploration of Chang’s experience as a national co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered and her fifteen-year career as a public media journalist. Chang discusses making big career changes, representation in media, the impact of investigative journalism, and more. -
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. is a pioneer clinician, researcher and teacher in the area of posttraumatic stress. His work uniquely integrates developmental, neurobiological, psychodynamic, somatic and interpersonal aspects of the impact of trauma and its treatment. -
The Writers Residency Program with Aspen Words welcomes Tochukwu Okafor as a speaker for their Author Talk Series. Aspen Public Radio's Breeze Richardson moderated the talk.
