Mary Dickson will retire as KUED’s director of community relations effective Jan. 31, 2019, to pursue writing and other creative endeavors. She will continue to host Contact with Mary Dickson, KUED’s interview segment for the arts and non-profit communities which airs weeknights, and will serve as on-air talent during pledge drives.
Dickson, who has been the face of KUED, has served for more than two decades as director of community relations and creative services at KUED Channel 7, Utah’s PBS station. She oversaw the station’s community outreach, promotions, publicity, media relations and advertising services, and published the monthly program guide, SEVEN, in addition to serving as the on-air host of Contact and Contact in the Community, an online series.
“Mary has been an outstanding leader and representative in our community. She has worked tirelessly and passionately toward the mission of KUED,” said James Morgese, KUED’s general manager. “I want to thank her for everything she has done for the station over the years. She will always be a part of KUED’s rich legacy, and her impact will never be forgotten. We will greatly miss her bright personality and positivity.”
Under Dickson’s direction, KUED won numerous local and national promotion and outreach awards, including Emmy and New York Film Festival Awards as well as those from PBS and the Utah Broadcasters Association.
In addition to her full-time position with the public television station, Dickson is an award-winning writer whose wide-ranging articles and essays have appeared in a variety of publications throughout the West. Her full-length play, “Exposed,” opened Plan B Theatre’s 2007-2008 season, where it played to sold-out houses and rave reviews. It was nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association for the Steinberg Award for Best New Play Produced Outside New York. Most recently it was presented in Eugene, Oregon. The play continues to be used in political theater college courses.
Dickson is the writer and co-producer of the national PBS documentary film, No Safe Place: Violence Against Women, which received a variety of awards including an Emmy nomination and a Gold Award from the Houston WorldFest International Film Festival.
Post-retirement, Dickson plans to travel and finish her manuscript for a book about sharing her home and life with international students from the Middle East and China during their formative college years, a time that coincided with a shifting geo-political landscape.
Johanna Hamilton, KUED’s current director of marketing, will assume Mary’s responsibilities and serve as director of marketing and community relations upon Dickson’s retirement.