Ron Hetrick, President & CEO of WITF
Ron Hetrick became WITF’s President & CEO in April 2019, only the 6th executive to lead the 56-year-old public media organization. Ron works to enrich civic life in Pennsylvania by connecting WITF’s worthwhile information, entertainment, and educational services to the region and ensuring that WITF’s content remains accessible and relevant to the community it serves.
From 2000 to 2019, Hetrick served in increasingly critical roles at WITF, with a key responsibility to ensure that WITF services and activities were strategically aligned with the organization’s vision and mission. As Senior VP of Finance and Administration from 2015 onward, Ron supervised finance, philanthropy, corporate sponsorship and human resources, serving as a member of the senior team tasked with content development, operations, business strategy and information technology.
A Pennsylvania native, Ron grew up in Harrisburg and helped to run a family-owned technology business, ultimately preparing the company for acquisition. Prior to coming to WITF, Ron worked for Flight Systems, a Daimler-Chrysler electronics manufacturer, in an information technology management role.
Ron earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from Temple University, an MBA from Villanova University, a BS in Computer Science and an AS in Electrical Engineering Technology from the Pennsylvania State University. Ron’s doctoral research explored the effects of corporate governance practices on nonprofit financial performance in institutions with accumulated wealth.
Ron is past-chair of the Board of Directors of the Public Media Business Association and previously served as board member and finance chair for Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, then engaged in a major capital campaign and construction project.