By Claire Pomer, Harwood Union correspondent
Christopher Wiersema is the new executive director of Mad River Valley Television (MRVTV). He oversees the director of the nonprofit and acts as a liaison between organizations and the board of directors.
Wiersema is from Montpelier, but he’s always enjoyed being in The Valley. “I have friends who live in The Valley, and my partner and I love hanging out here.”
When the position opened at MRVTV, he eagerly applied and was thrilled to be hired.
He was previously the co-director of Orca Media in Montpelier, which, along with MRVTV, is one of 24 public access TV organizations in the state. He helped start the Vermont Youth Documentary Lab. In this intensive weeklong summer program, students crate a short film about issues that matter to them, like the “juxtaposiiton between elders and youth in the community.”
He’s also been involved in community-based learning student mentorship programs at Montpelier and Twinfield. Recently, he helped revive the Green Mountain Film Festival which rebooted this spring after a four-year COVID hiatus.
“The exciting thing about public access TV,” he says, “is that it is what the community makes of it. We’re a service and a resource for the community, so I would love to hear people’s ideas for new projects and partnerships. We have a studio available, so come borrow a camera or think of us when you want to livestream an event in The Valley. Stay tuned: I’m just getting started.”
Wiersema follows former executive director Rob Perry, Warren, who joined MRVTV in October 2020 and left the station this spring to work full time with his partner Amy Kimmel at their Shirt Happens business in Waitsfield.
