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Peter Payette

Executive Director

Peter joined IPR in 2000, directed news beginning in 2001 and became the Executive Director in 2016.

His job is to make sure IPR remains a vibrant source of music, news and stories for people in northern Michigan and beyond, exploring life in the upper Great Lakes and sharing the wealth of artistry at Interlochen with our neighbors. 

In his former role, he reported on a wide range of issues critical to the culture and economy of northern Michigan.

Many of his favorite stories are about obscure fish in the Great Lakes or the new arrivals changing the food web.  He also admires the people keeping the rock 'n' roll revolution alive in the woods of northern Michigan and enjoys any story that reconnects the past to the present.

His work has been featured on NPR, Michigan Radio, Bridge magazine and won awards from Public Media Journalists Association, the Associated Press and New York Festivals.

He has taught journalism and audio storytelling to students and adults at Interlochen Center for the Arts. 

Peter has vacationed in Benzie County his entire life and became acquainted with IPR through radios that were always on in family cottages on the south shore of Crystal Lake.

His wife Sarah is his biggest fan. They have four children, Isabelle, Amelia, Emmet and Juan, and they live happily in Traverse City's Kids Creek Neighborhood.