It’s Been 10 Years – Welcome KALW’s Audio Academy Class of 2022/2023
By Ben Trefny, Interim Executive Director, KALW
Clockwise from top left: Kyri Nashiem, Kelby McIntosh, Alia Taqieddin, Priscilla Ankrah, Mary Catherine O’Connor, Wendy Reyes, Daniela Rodriguez, Astrid Fedel.
It’s my absolute pleasure to introduce you to KALW’s 10th Audio Academy class!
This is an audio journalism training program made possible for the last decade by the Association for Continuing Education. Our graduates are all over the media, all over the country, and this class is off to a wonderful start!
Here’s a little about our fellows, in their own words:
Priscilla Ankrah (she/her)
I am an immigrant from Ghana, navigating race, place, and being in a time of great possibility and turmoil. I believe in the power of us, and of our collective imaginations, to bring forth a world that fulfills the entirety of our beings. I believe in the power of our dreams. I am a law school graduate and a budding optimist. Forward ever.
Mary Catherine O’Connor (she/her)
Originally from Chicago, I’ve lived in San Francisco for the past 20 years and am a veteran reporter and communicator. I was most recently editorial director for Activate, a nonprofit that empowers science entrepreneurs to bring their research to market. Prior to that I spent a dozen years as an independent reporter whose beats included climate, energy, microplastics, technology, and recreation. I’ve written for Outside, The Guardian, Al Jazeera America, and many other publications, and in 2014 co-founded a reader-supported experiment in journalism, called Climate Confidential. I had a brief stint in radio during college and can’t wait to learn the craft of audio storytelling.
Astrid Fedel (she/her)
Originally from France, I moved in the Bay Area in 2017. After completing my studies in Political Science and Communication between France and Latinoamerica, I specialized as a content manager and producer in the visual communication industry, while writing for a handful of design publications. In 2022, I co-founded the production company Incomedia. I’m fascinated to see how radio and podcasting stand at the crossroads between the oral tradition of telling stories, and a media industry renewed by the recent development of podcast production. By joining the KALW audio academy, I hope to become part of this exciting movement as an audio producer. I’m looking forward to producing local and personal stories that help us reflect on social changes. I’m also interested in covering the Bay Area craft, design and artistic scene.
Kelby McIntosh (he/him)
I’ve been in love with sound since I was a kid; my mom and dad are both musically inclined (sing, play instruments, etc.) — their musical talents transferred to me in audio editing. Though I have experience working with Cumulus Broadcasting back in my hometown of Dallas as an editor, most of what I’ve learned has been self-taught. Besides those things, I’m a matcha tea addict, music nerd, and blerd.
Kyri Nashiem (he/him)
I’m a radio host, producer, and editor who recently graduate from the broadcasting program at San Francisco State University. My goal is to use media as a vehicle to incite positive change, bring awareness to leaders from marginalized communities, and create inspiring and educational content.
Wendy Reyes (she/her)
I am a Mexican-American multi-media artist and activist. As a social justice advocate I strive to inform others about social issues and current events in order to promote healthy and just shifts in our society. I aim to use my knowledge, passion, and skills to face challenges with a creative and solution-based mentality.
Daniela Rodriguez (she/her)
Daniela is a passionate first-generation Latinx poet, videographer, educator, and audio enthusiast. Daniela graduated from The Academy of Art University in San Francisco where she received her Associate’s degree in Sound Design for Visual Media. Storytelling and audio have been a haven for Daniela, as they bring her closer to her ancestry. She hopes to share that with the world, whether that is through sound, video, music, or writing. Most importantly, she is passionate about highlighting underrepresented voices and bringing those voices to light. Catch her teaching audio to folks and kids throughout the Bay Area, and learning about audio engineering, or reading in her free time!
Alia Taqieddin (she/they)
Hello! I am a Seattle-raised, Oakland-based cultural worker, DJ, and community archivist. I’m inspired by the notion of documentation as a feminist practice, and I belong to a lineage of Palestinian and Arab women storytellers. You can find my archival work at the Arab American National Museum, which houses my multimedia oral history of Dearborn, Michigan residents in the Oral Histories Collection. In my free time, I enjoy making playlists for my loved ones over chai, hosting my monthly radio show, Kan Ya Makan, on Moonglow Radio, and DJing for Kousa Party, a Bay-Area based Southwest Asian/North African dance party and community gathering.