Salyer was president of Public Radio International before becoming chief executive officer of the nonprofit Salzburg Global Seminar, which is based in Austria but has an office in the District. He was the youngest person ever to be appointed to a presidential commission. What is Salzburg Global Seminar?
It’s a policy center that works to develop young leaders around the world to focus on solving global problems. … We have about 25,000 alumni all around the world in 160 countries.
What’s the most fun job you’ve had?
Looking back, one of the really fun times for me was when we were starting a program in public radio called “The World,” which is still on WAMU at 8 o’clock. It was really exciting, as well as difficult, to negotiate a relationship with the BBC, Public Radio’s partner, and U.S. broadcasters. We found that even though everyone spoke English, we didn’t always use words in the same way. We literally had to create a kind of Pictionary of terms, so we could understand each other.
Do you miss working for PRI?
I miss parts of it. The thing that’s fun is you work on something and then you turn on the radio and you hear something you know you had a hand in. Sometimes in other settings you don’t get that instant gratification or that adrenaline or rush. … There’s something about the pace that I think can be very stimulating, but I worked in public television and radio for 25 years and that’s plenty.
Why were you chosen for the Presidential Commission on Population Growth and the American Future?
I was in college during a lot of student unrest and social activism, and the administrations of that period were looking to find younger people who they could include. … John Rockefeller, who was the head of that commission, told [the Nixon administration] he wanted people under 30. For a while they were very resistant, but then agreed.
Caitlin Byrnes
