RFE/RL Launches Leadership Transition
Stephen Capus to depart in September; Lisa Curtis steps into role
(WASHINGTON) — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) President and CEO Stephen Capus has announced his resignation, effective September 15, 2026. Mr. Capus has led RFE/RL since January 1, 2024.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role, leading one of the world’s most important journalistic organizations. I am deeply grateful to our journalists and staff for their commitment, professionalism, and steadfastness under immense pressure. At a time when America’s adversaries spend billions trying to control the information space, I welcome the intent of both Congress and the Executive Branch to support an organization that has fought successfully on the information battlefield for 75 years,” Capus said.
As part of an orderly transition, RFE/RL’s Board of Directors has named Lisa Curtis as Capus’s successor. Ms. Curtis most recently served as a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. A national security expert with 35 years of experience on U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific region, Curtis served for over 20 years in the U.S. government, including at the CIA, the Department of State, Congress, and the National Security Council, where she was Deputy Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for South and Central Asia during the first Trump administration.
“The company has been very fortunate to have someone with Steve’s extensive experience in the news business at the helm. His determined leadership has guided RFE/RL through an uncertain period. RFE/RL is well positioned to meet the challenges of a tumultuous media and geopolitical environment. It will be a privilege to lead this extraordinary American institution, as we extend our unique contribution to press freedom and uncensored journalism that fosters democratic societies,” said Curtis.
Ms. Curtis served as a Member of the RFE/RL Board of Directors from September 2022 and as its chair from July 2024. Curtis resigned from the RFE/RL Board on June 6, 2026.
Stephen Rademaker, a Board member since July 2025, succeeds Curtis as Chairperson. Mr. Rademaker is Senior of Counsel at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches at the graduate level on U.S. sanctions policy. He joined Covington & Burling following a long career in public service in all three branches of government. Mr. Rademaker maintains an active pro bono practice, which has included representation of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was imprisoned in Russia and released in August 2024.
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — digital, television, and radio — reach a weekly audience of more than 44 million people in 18 countries and 24 languages.