Born in 1951 the son of a career Navy submarine officer, Rob intended to follow in his father’s footsteps but a series of events led him to Maryville College in 1969 where he met his future wife, Ann. His career in nonprofit management began in Washington D.C. with the National Endowment for the Arts which in turn led to a position at National Public Radio in charge of recruiting member stations for the fledgling network.

In 1988 Rob was appointed General Manager of WUIS in Springfield, Illinois. In 1995 he realized a lifelong ambition to return to Tennessee as CEO for Nashville Public Radio (WPLN) where he spent the next 24 years. Rob retired from WPLN in 2019 and since then has been assisting a small but dynamic music organization, The Nashville Jazz Workshop. Rob, with 5 (soon to be 6) grandchildren, plans to fully retire in 2022 to make more time for those kids and for cycling, reading, cooking and playing the piano.