New York, NY, October 17, 2018 - The Mentoring & Inspiring Women in Radio (MIW) Group, a volunteer organization dedicated to the advancement of female leadership in radio, and Nielsen Music, the industry’s leading source for music data and solutions-driven insights, announce that Grisel Barajas, Program Director and Host of La Grande 105.1 FM, a Radio One, Inc. radio station, has been named the MIW Group-Nielsen Music Programming Mentee. Now in its second year, MIW Group-Nielsen Music Mentoring program is a collaborative effort aiming to increase the number of women in radio programming positions across the country.
The one-year mentorship matches a female programming candidate with key mentors from both the MIW Radio Group and Nielsen Music, offering her the opportunity to sharpen the programming and professional skills needed further her career in music-formatted radio.
“We are thrilled to announce Grisel Barajas as our mentee for the second annual MIW-Nielsen Music Mentoring Program,” said Haley Jones, Director of Radio at Nielsen Entertainment. “Grisel’s leadership, passion for radio and sharp programming skills embody all of the key traits that we look for in a candidate. We are excited to start working with her.”
Grisel Barajas is the Program Director for Radio One’s only Spanish radio station, “La Grande 105.1” in Indianapolis, where she also serves as an afternoon host. In addition, she serves as an on-air talent and content collaborator for Telemundo 10-WDNI-CD, an affiliate station owned by Radio One. She was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico before migrating with her family to Chicago in 1997. Barajas was selected from a field of over 50 candidates, the largest applicant pool to date for the MIW-Nielsen Music Mentoring Program.
Ruth Presslaff, Founder and President of Presslaff Interactive Revenue and MIW Group executive committee member said, “The number of outstanding candidates who applied for the program this year made it a very difficult decision for our panel of judges. We are heartened by all of the gifted women we’re seeing in music programming.”
In addition to the one-year mentoring opportunity, Grisel Barajas received a scholarship to attend the Radio Show, jointly produced by the RAB and NAB, and held in Orlando, Florida. She was officially introduced at the MIW Group’s traditional Radio Show dinner on Sept. 25th.
The MIW-Nielsen Music Mentoring Program supplements the ongoing MIW Group Mildred Carter Mentoring Program, which offers women in all divisions of radio advice for broadcasting management, education and coveted access to leaders in radio broadcasting at the very highest level.