Former WRIR leader Melissa Vaughn dies after battle with cancer

Melissa Vaughn, who led Richmond public radio station WRIR for five years, died Thursday after a battle with breast cancer. She was 46 years old.

The station, which broadcasts at 97.3 FM, is known for highlighting diverse voices from across the Richmond area.

Under her leadership the community access station began a capital campaign to move to a dedicated building in Shockoe Bottom. Fundraising remains ongoing for that effort.

Vaughn stepped away from her role on Sept. 30 after the cancer spread to other parts of her body.

"Melissa was a fierce advocate, not only for public radio and WRIR, but for Richmond. For her community. For voices that yearned to be heard," wrote interim president Bridé Baker in an email.

"She was our fearless leader and our tireless cheerleader; our passionate and bombastic One Hit Wanda; she was audacious, bold, and uncompromising, both in vision and in her playlist construction.

"She was everywhere, talking about everything, to everyone. She was-one-of-a-kind; one of those mythic Richmond originals who never truly leave us. She was our friend."

A Richmond native who attended Manchester High, Vaughn told North of the James Magazine in 2024 that she was civic-minded from a young age.

“When I was eleven I stumbled upon City Council on Channel 57 and that started my lifetime ob-session with Richmond City Council,” she said. “It was like my soap opera.”

Vaughn was part of the RVA Dirt news team, and was part of a radio show titled “Municipal Mania” that took on civic affairs.

Memorial information is currently being assembled, and will be shared in the coming weeks.

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.