KP Whaley
General Manager
KP has been involved in public and community broadcasting for over a decade an joined us in 2017 after nearly four years as a senior talk producer at Wisconsin Public Radio. He started his radio career as a volunteer and then News and Public Affairs Director at WORT Community Radio in Madison, Wisconsin in 2005. Between those two gigs he has also worked in community television, community food cooperatives, and as the manager of MAIN-FM for a year. And once upon a time worked in the private sector in a variety of supervisory, management, and project management roles.
Kama Ward
President, Friends of Community Radio
When Kama realized her kids didn’t need quite so much raising anymore, she looked into raising other things. Hell? Farm Animals? No… How about a radio station?– It’s a little bit of both! She has a BA in communication and in her spare time enjoys domestic policy, eating, and traveling to exotic thrift stores for old records.
Greg Lyon
Vice President, Friends of Community Radio
Before returning to his native Asheville, Greg was a DJ at WPRB (Princeton, NJ) and the Music Director at WXDU (Durham, NC). He’s also lived in Berlin and Zurich, where he suffered withdrawal from freeform radio. Greg is a historian of early modern Europe, an editor, and a teacher of professional writing. He also currently teaches Humanities at UNC-Asheville.
Kirk Watson
Secretary, Friends of Community Radio
Kirk came to Asheville in 2010, with his wife Alice, via New Orleans, Rhinebeck, NY and Austin, TX. Though a recent transplant, he sees Asheville as his home. He has volunteered with the station, off and on, since it’s early days in 2011 and joined the board in late 2016. He believes that Asheville FM provides a vital community service, by giving the diverse voices of our community an outlet. He is the founder of Causeway Interactive, which provides web technology support services to nonprofit organizations across the country.
Esther Cartwright
Treasurer, Friends of Community Radio
Sekou Coleman
Sekou Coleman is an artist, cultural activist and youth advocate who was raised in a culture of community and service. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in Music, and worked afterwards as a community organizer fostering collaboration in and between the city’s most marginalized neighborhoods. His professional experience spans more than two decades and includes everything from songwriting and sound engineering to youth program development, website and interactive media creation, software training, film production, project management and more. Presently, in addition to being the producer for Beneath The Veneer, an independent documentary about young black men navigating multigenerational trauma and systemic inequity, Sekou is the project manager for the Southside Arts and Agriculture Center, a collaborative community initiative to foster food security and cultural arts events in Asheville’s historic black Southside neighborhood. He also mentors youth and develops strategic partnerships for Word On The Street/La Voz De Los Jovenes, a bilingual youth magazine run by teens of color, and is a core member of CoThinkk, an innovative giving circle dedicated to supporting leaders and communities of color in Western NC. Sekou is also a board member for Journeymen (a community of men who mentor adolescent boys on their journey to becoming men of integrity) and Bountiful Cities (an organization dedicated to teaching sustainable agriculture skills in urban environments).
Will Sibbald
1988-1998: Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington. Technical Writer for Microsoft Word, User Assistance Department Manager for Microsoft Excel, Manager of technical writers and editors for Microsoft Office manuals and on-screen Help content.
Retired from Microsoft, August 1998; moved to rural south central Colorado. Served as a volunteer for a number of non-profits in Westcliffe, Colorado between 1999-2010, including….
1999-2010: Served on the Board of Trustees for the West Custer County Library District; 2002-2010: Co- founded and served as President of the non-profit High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival; 2001-2005: Served as President of the Wet Mountain Valley Arts Council, producer of the annual Jazz in the Sangres festival; 2000-2006: Member of the board of the Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts; managed the New Rocky Mountain Voices regional one-act play competition; 2004-present: Served as Music Director and member of the Program Committee for KWMV Radio (now KLZR), a non-profit community radio station.
2014-present: Volunteer for Friends of Community Radio, the non-profit organization that operates 103.3 AshevilleFM community radio in Asheville, North Carolina. 2015-present: Member of the Friends of Community Radio Board of Directors.
Chris Fink
Chris adds his experience as a sales & marketing professional and org development consultant to help grow the Asheville sound experience; and to deliver on our commitment to support the organizations that help everyone in our community thrive. Dusting-off earlier work as a music producer and station general manager (WRUC, New York), Chris is delighted to be back among friends of community radio.