Shirley Howard

Shirley Howard was a well-respected journalist, philanthropist and advocate for women's rights. Her career as a reporter with OPB spanned more than 40 years and she led the effort to bring women's voices into the conversation during the pivotal years of the 1960s and '70s. Shirley's impact on OPB's public service mission continues today through a gift in her estate to OPB's Impact Journalism Fund. Her gift helps ensure that everyone has access to a broad range of news, documentaries, science, dramas, music and more on OPB TV and radio long into the future.

Shirley's career in public broadcasting started in 1948 at KOAC in Corvallis as a freshman at Oregon State College (now OSU). After graduation, she worked for the Coos-Curry Electric Co-op educating Oregonians in remote places new to electric power on the use of electricity. She returned to broadcasting in 1959 when KOAC hired her to host the long-running daily radio interview shows called "Especially for Women" and "Oregon Dialogue."

"Shirley was incredibly generous with her time and knowledge. She knew everyone who had been in the news in this state over the span of several decades and could get them on the phone in a heartbeat. They all knew her and respected her tremendously. She helped establish a standard for who we are and what we do that we honor to this day." — Morgan Holm, Chief Content Officer, OPB

In her role as Director of Women's Programs, Shirley transformed the programming to reflect the changing times in support of women's rights. Shirley's reporting and interviews contributed significantly towards advancing women into the political arenas that were dominated by men.

As OPB evolved, Shirley continued her work to elevate women's voices and others in the community often not heard. She completed her master's thesis on women in the broadcast audience and helped OPB build programming to meet the needs of new TV and radio audiences.

Shirley transferred to OPB in Portland in 1965, broadcasting daily live interviews with politicians, dignitaries, celebrities, performers and authors from the London Grill at the Benson Hotel. She packed around her bulky reel-to-reel tape recorder "like the guys," except in heels and a tailored wardrobe.

Shirley Howard retired from OPB in 1995. Her legacy lives on in the journalistic standards she set decades ago and in her generosity to further OPB's mission of serving the public with trustworthy news, information and programming that enriches lives.