Executive Director
phone 612-547-1454
amy@vocalessence.org

Amy Jaine Wielunski joined VocalEssence as Executive Director in 2024, bringing with her 22 years of non-profit experience at organizations with local, state-wide, and national reach.

Before joining VocalEssence, Amy was the Vice President of Membership at Chicago Public Media—home to Chicago’s NPR station WBEZ Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times. In her time at Chicago Public Media, WBEZ membership revenue grew more than 10% to nearly $13M—and she led the team responsible for the burgeoning Sun-Times digital membership program. Prior to that, Amy oversaw membership programs at Minnesota Public Radio, New York Public Radio, WSKG, and WTMD. She also worked in various roles at WAMU—starting in digital, moving to programming, corporate sponsorship, and eventually even co-hosting a Bluegrass radio show.

Throughout her career, Amy has shown her dedication to fostering inclusive and equitable work environments. She served as co-chair of CPM’s DEI Council and MPR|APM’s Women’s Employee Resource Group. She is a certified trainer of The Freedom Forum Power Shift Project’s Workplace Integrity curriculum, and as a representative of WAMU, served on the executive board of American University’s staff council. Amy was a fellow in the inaugural cohort of the Public Media Women in Leadership CEO/COO Bootcamp and holds a degree in print journalism with a minor in music performance from American University in Washington, DC.

Amy is an active patron of the arts, with a focus on theater and classical music. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors of Porchlight Music Theatre (Chicago, IL) and has sung with the American Public Media Radio Choir, the Oratorio Society of Minnesota’s 2016 Summer Chorus, the New York Choral Society, Binghamton, NY’s Summer Savoyards, and the American University Chorus & Chamber Singers. Amy grew up in the Episcopal tradition of Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) training, attending the RSCM America King’s College Course (Wilkes-Barre, PA) for nearly 15 years.

Amy has a proven track record as a collaborative and influential relationship builder with deep knowledge of business operations, workplace culture development, and revenue generation. She is passionate about civic engagement, media literacy, the arts, and education. Amy is committed to creating thriving communities through work that inspires individuals and impacts audiences.