LEWISTON — The Maine Public Broadcasting Network announced its next president and CEO on Tuesday, selecting a longtime veteran of public radio to fill the role beginning in January.

Mark Vogelzang, 56, was elected unanimously by MPBN’s board of directors, according to the organization’s website. He will replace Jim Dowe, who has headed MPBN as president and CEO since 2006. Dowe announced last spring that he intended to retire at the end of the year.

Vogelzang was president of Vermont Public Radio for 16 years, from 1993 to 2009. He served on NPR’s board of directors from 2001 to 2008, and presided over their fundraising operations as interim executive director in 2009.

His success in Vermont, where he spearheaded a $10 million endowment campaign and carved out separate regional networks for news and the arts, attracted MPBN’s board of directors, a news release said.

“Mark’s long tenure as the leader of a statewide public media network in northern New England with a roughly equal number of stations, individual donors and corporate supporters combined with his deep knowledge of nonprofit fundraising, makes him the ideal candidate to lead MPBN into the future,” said MPBN board chairman Henry “Hank” Schmelzer.

Most recently, Vogelzang was station manager of WBFO-FM, an NPR affiliate in Buffalo.

Previously, he was involved in the launch of the much-respected NPR interview show “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross.