NHPR’s Olivia Richardson will host the 15th annual Rising Stars Awards at the Currier Museum in Manchester on October 17, 2024. NHPR is a partner with Stay Work Play on this initiative – an impactful collaboration that makes a difference in the Granite State.
The Rising Stars Awards celebrate and recognize New Hampshire's remarkable young people (who are 40 and under) as well as the businesses that go the extra mile to recruit and retain them. The Rising Stars Awards ceremony also recognizes talented young people from throughout New Hampshire who are making a difference by choosing to live and work in the Granite State. In addition, companies and programs that work to recruit and retain young people are honored. This year the ceremony is being held at the Currier Museum in Manchester, N.H. Buy tickets here.
Olivia joins NHPR from WLVR/Lehigh Valley Public Media, where she covered the Easton area in eastern Pennsylvania. She has also reported for WUWM in Milwaukee and WBEZ in Chicago, where she contributed stories about local house music scene and the city's role in the Underground Railroad. She also has extensive podcast production experience, including for The Double Shift.
Why she stays: Trails, a love of the woods and some good friendships make New Hampshire fun. I had the experience of growing up in both cities and small towns – one of the perks of moving across the country a few times. Living in Manchester, I get to feel a bit of both. I’m used to larger cities but I like that New Hampshire is small enough that I can drive an hour to the mountains and am never that far from trails. Though friends to join and taking photos with has become a focal point here.
Where she works: This is a small state with a lot to cover and NHPR gives me the opportunity to start making headway. Finding out how people live and what’s impacting them has always been an interest of mine since I’ve started working in journalism. I’ve been able to follow a town’s response to a proposed public art policy, and how children are impacted over policies about school lunch. How communities advocate shows a lot about what’s going on around them. There’s also a bonus– NHPR really loves pizza during pledge drives and primaries, and I feel like it hits the feels of my childhood that loved watching some pizza eating teenage mutant ninja turtles fight crime in NYC. Finding out the comics were started in Dover was a blast.
How she plays: You can find me all around the state. I might be near a horse farm, I might be getting some super secret ice cream. I’m trying to get into karaoke and I guess hiking now, too. Day trips out and around the state have been one of the many ways to explore and get to know the area and it’s been surprising to see how New Hampshire varies from region to region. I kind of go where curiosity takes me but then there’s the nights where gaming and trash talking horror films makes for the perfect evening.