ACE Spectrum
ACE Spectrum
Ace Spectrum is about you — the ACE Learning Centers.
It’s a quick sharing of ideas, inspiration, opinions and best practices among our continuing education organizations.
Please join the conversation.
ACE Honors Board Director Chip Maloney and Welcomes New Board Director Ron Loiacono
By Martha Sessums, President, ACE
For 30-plus years of ACE’s 51-year history, George Maloney – called Chip by most everyone – was there for ACE.
Chip Maloney, ACE Board Director – and he liked to cook too.
He joined the ACE Board and was always a supporting force and inspiration as the Educational Broadband Services (EBS) industry changed. He was there when ACE broadcast from classrooms to office buildings throughout the Bay Area, the original distance learning format. He was there when distance learning delivery morphed from TV to the internet so anyone could watch a mobile device or computer and learn anything anywhere.
He was there for ACE during a variety of transitions that, as a non-profit, were a struggle. There was a period of no income for ACE and he and the rest of the ACE Board supported the organization because they believed in the spirit of education and the power of the educational broadband spectrum assigned to ACE by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC.) Chip helped ACE transition from direct broadcast to supporting Bay Area schools in their educational needs by providing internet access for classrooms. And he was there helping to direct our current strategy of ACE Learning Centers for select Bay Area schools.
He also contributed to the strategies of our current transition as the FCC re-examines EBS licenses and considers loosening up educational requirements and perhaps freeing the spectrum for auction. Change is in the air.
Chip passed away at his home in Saratoga, CA on June 18, 2019 after a long illness after surgery. His wonderful wife, Weedgie, will always be a personal friend. Weedgie, daughter Kieran, son Peter and their six grandchildren will miss Chip’s storytelling, how he made them laugh and his many words of wisdom.
We at ACE will miss Chip and his wit and stories too.
But we welcome as Director to the ACE Board Ron Loiacono. Ron has 17 years of experience in the EBS industry as Executive Director of the Bay Area’s Catholic Telemedia Network. He understands the new challenges and opportunities that face ACE and his wisdom will help direct us to success.
Ron’s background can be seen here.
So welcome, Ron. We look forward to a great partnership and your strategic advice as ACE successfully navigates these new times.
We’ll never forget you, Chip. Thank you for your thoughtful advice and support all these years.
Graduate Reflects on Her New Audio Future Influenced by KALW Audio Academy
By Ben Trefny, News Director, KALW and Lisa Wang, KALW Audio Academy Graduate
It’s been a busy summer! Here are KALW, we recently completed a 14-episode run of our podcast Bounce: The Warriors Last Season in Oakland. Our Sights & Sounds team held a live block party alongside Eastside Arts Alliance in East Oakland, featuring a mini-documentary film called “Where is East Oakland,” which was recently accepted at the Oakland International Film Festival. And we started working with nearly a dozen emerging journalists in our summer training program, along with five high school interns who will be producing a podcast about the ways in which they interact with the media. Exciting stuff!
While we’re always looking ahead, it’s also nice to reflect. We’re going to do that, today, with recent Audio Academy graduate Lisa Wang, who recently moved from the Bay Area to Brooklyn:
Lisa Wang speaks at the 2019 KALW Audio Academy graduation while Ben Trefny (white shirt) and other Audio Academy and KALW employees listen. Photo credit: Marissa Ortega-Welch.
I’m moving to New York because I got a six-month production internship with Stitcher where I’ll be helping out with two podcasts — Science Rules! with Bill Nye (a call-in show) and another true crime documentary podcast. I’m going to say the most cliched thing possible now: I can’t believe this is happening. I’ve been building up a steady career in tech for the past eight years, and to leave that behind for a very uncertain future in audio is really scary. Thinking about it too much breaks me into a cold sweat. But it also makes me all tingly and excited the way that falling in love or going to college made me feel.
This didn’t happen overnight. I’ve been immersed in all things audio for the past nine-months as a KALW Audio Academy fellow. I had taken some radio classes before, but my experience at KALW has really solidified my love for the process of creating a radio story: pitch, report, draft, edit, rinse, repeat. In my first feature, I reported on the story of a non-profit in the Mission District that dove deep into real estate development in order to help the people in their community better. Initially, I thought the premise was simple enough, but soon, I found myself drowning in housing acronyms (RAD, PHA, SRO, etc) that I had never heard of before. My mind went into meltdown many times over all the facts and figures, but my editor, Jeneé Darden, steered me back to my core story every time things got too overwhelming. After many grueling months, I finally finished my story. When I heard it on air, I was immensely thankful for all the people who were involved that made it happen: the people I interviewed (even the ones whose voices didn’t make it to air) who were kind enough to share their story with me, my editor, my Audio Academy mentor and other Audio Academy fellows who supported me emotionally, the amazing sound engineers. So yeah, I guess when I really think about it, I shouldn’t be so afraid of my uncertain future in audio because I’m going to have all these amazing people pushing me through.
Originally, my start date at Stitcher was going to be on June 17, which is the day that we’re having our Audio Academy graduation. Everyone (myself included) was super bummed I wouldn’t be able to walk out along with the rest of the graduates. But Stitcher agreed to extend the start date, and so I was able to attend in person (the alternate was a cut-out of me), walking out to some bangin’ music and celebrating with some of the best people I’ve met in my adult life. I’m so jazzed for my own future and for all my fellows’ futures. I can’t wait to hear all the stories that we’ll make one day and think of the tingly and excited way that making our first radio stories here at KALW made us feel.
Graduating Class of 2019 Audio Academy Learned to Make Great Radio Stories
By Martha Sessums, President, ACE
Audio Academy 2019 Fellows – after graduation
After nine months of work, the KALW Audio Academy Class of 2019 graduated on Tuesday, June 17. As Ben Trefny, KALW News Director, bragged, it’s the sixth graduating Audio Academy class and ACE can brag too as we have supported the Audio Academy since its inception.
A major part of the Audio Academy’s inception was driven by Holly Kernan, currently KQED’s Chief Content Officer. Six years ago, Holly was News Director at KALW. As a part of her focus on a public interest newsroom, she convinced the ACE board that it needed to support the Audio Academy as a part of ACE’s focus on education. A couple of years later, Holly moved to KQED but the Audio Academy continued to grow in excellence.
The Audio Academy 2019 Fellows – 9 months before graduation
This year, Kernan was the Keynote Speaker at the graduation. Her focus was to give advice, and it ranged from “do work you believe in” to “don’t eat spinach salad at a business lunch.” (We all understand that green chunks stuck in teeth ruin a smile.)
There were lots of pieces of advice, but the ones that seemed to create the most nodding heads (beside the one about spinach salad) were:
1. The media tends to support the status quo in news, so question that status quo
2. Follow the golden rule
3. Sound way smarter (on radio) than you are
4. But do not copy someone else’s voice – be authentic and find your own voice
5. Write out loud – write into the paper so it sounds good on radio
6. Negotiate your salary when hired – it’s your best chance
7. Deal with rejection and failure by learning from it and pushing through
8. The key to gratitude is happiness
The way that the Audio Academy works is that each Fellow is assigned a Mentor. As Hana Baba, Host of Crosscurrents and MC of the graduation said, “All the work was done by the Radio Dulas.” The Dulas are the team of Fellow/Mentor and, as is tradition, each Mentor came on stage and introduced their Fellow by telling how it was to work with them and how they responded to the Audio Academy training. Each reflected the personalities of the Fellows and the Mentors, both funny and serious.
The eight Fellow’s presentations ranged from reading a poem to several touching thanks to parents in attendance to enthusiasm about “I said ass on the radio” to each Fellow having found their superpower. “AA equals Avengers Assemble – we’re here to dominate and take over,” said graduating Fellow Porfirio Rangel.
Proof that the Audio Academy works is that the majority of Fellows have professional jobs at radio stations from the local Bay Area to Atlanta or with nationally distributed radio programs or podcasts with national distribution.
As Baba said, “We make great radio.”
Congratulations to the Audio Academy Class of 2019:
Alyia Yates
JoAnn DeLuna
Kevin McLean
Lance Gardner
Lisa Wang
Magnolia McKay
Porfirio Rangel
Pria Mahadevan