Fired director refuses to leave KPFA offices

The fired head of the foundation that runs the city’s iconic KPFA radio station and four other stations around the country is refusing to go and is living in her office with her mother and supporters. Summer Reese was a little over a month into her three-year, $105,000 a year contract when she was fired and given no reason.  Reese, who oversaw a $13 million budget, said she will not go because the decision, supported by a bare majority of board members, was made at an unannounced meeting and is therefore void and illegal. She said the organization needs her because its books are in disarray, it’s financial situation precarious. Reese said the board’s displeasure with her may have started in August when she had to lay off 19 employees, or two thirds of the staff at WBAI in New York.