Chris Nelson

Senior Vice President of Technology Operations
National Public Radio

Education

Chris Nelson is the senior vice president of technology operations at NPR. In this role, he manages the teams responsible for audio engineering and broadcast operations; satellite and
terrestrial network distribution; IT; network infrastructure; cybersecurity; and software engineering and development for content production and publication.
Nelson began his career as an audio engineer at NPR and later served in technical director roles for the network’s flagship music recording facility, political and elections coverage, and technology training.
In 2012, he was promoted into leadership, where, in partnership with news and programming teams, he introduced new technologies and workflows for journalists, implemented network-wide standards for broadcast and podcast production, oversaw the design of NPR’s next generation studio facilities, and strengthened NPR’s disaster recovery processes. This provided a strong foundation for him to successfully lead the organization’s technical operations through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outside of his work at NPR, Nelson has produced audio documentaries for public radio and the National Hockey League.
He also served as a consultant and audio specialist for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Tanzania.