Rachel Smolkin

President & CEO, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Rachel Smolkin serves as the President and CEO of Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). She is responsible for leading the strategic direction and overall mission of the organization.

Prior to OPB, she served as senior vice president of global news for CNN Digital, overseeing breaking news and politics and managing the network’s digital teams in Washington, across the United States, and around the world. She began at CNN in 2014, bolstering the network’s coverage of Washington, politics, and elections to help build CNN into a top digital politics brand. Before joining CNN, Smolkin served in leadership and editing roles at Politico, USA Today, and the American Journalism Review magazine. 

Smolkin has an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, where she attended the global executive program as a Batten Media Fellow. She completed the Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University.