GRANGER, Wash. — The controversial figure at the helm of the Yakima Valley’s Spanish-language public broadcaster was dismissed today.

After a year of internal conflict and public protests, Radio KDNA’s governing board dismissed executive director Maria Fernandez in a meeting today.

Her replacement is Laura Contreras, an immigration lawyer with Columbia Legal Service in Yakima. She begins Friday, said Len Black, a member of the Northwest Communities Education Center governing board.

“It’s just a culmination of things that said we probably need to be in a different place, going in a different direction,” Black said this evening. “And it’s a good opportunity for Maria to begin pursuing other opportunities.”

Fernandez took over the direction of the nation’s first Spanish-language public broadcast station in summer 2008, replacing its longtime director, Ricardo Garcia. Almost immediately, station staff complained about her management style and many were fired or quit.

The problems spilled onto the airwaves, and throughout much of 2009, employees, former employees, volunteers and listeners staged protests and demanded Fernandez’s resignation.

— Melissa Sánchez