KP Whaley (General Manager)
KP has been involved in public and community broadcasting for more than a decade, and joined Asheville FM 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.
Esther Cartwright (Chair, Board of Directors)
A lover of music who has lived in Atlanta, Chapel Hill, New York and Memphis and enjoyed the diverse radio each had to offer. After working in the music industry, I moved to Asheville 13 years ago to work at the family business. From it’s very beginning my family and I have been supporters of AshevilleFM. Now both my husband and daughter are DJs and I am honored to serve on the board.
Erik Mattox (Vice-Chair, Board of Directors)
Originally from New York, Erik has made Asheville his home for over thirty years. An avid record collector and music researcher, he has remained a part of Asheville FM since its beginning. His show, The UnCola has been airing since September 2009 every Tuesday night, and he was also the host of The West Coast Breeze from 2015 to 2018. Along with serving as the Publicity and Promotions director in 2010, he joined the Board in 2011, serving a term as President while Asheville FM made the transition to its FM signal. Erik is very appreciative to be serving as a board member again. You can also follow him at his blog, Music In the Key Of E.
Elizabeth Garland (Secretary, Board of Directors)
Elizabeth Garland is the Director of Alumni Relations and Community Engagement and the Co-Director of Equity and Inclusion at Carolina Day School. She is the creator and host of Slay the Mic (Saturday evenings on Asheville FM), which is founded on the mission to celebrate culture, community, and creativity by amplifying voices.
In her role, as an administrator, educator, mentor, and radio host she aligns her passion for creating community, and encouraging active engagement as an advocate for culturally enriched resources. Prior to joining Carolina Day School in 2015, Elizabeth worked in the radio entertainment industry for iHeartMedia in San Francisco, CA, and Core Communications in Asheville, NC. She is a communications professional with a background of effective promotion of brands through marketing, media/public relations, communications and community-involvement channels. She has a wide variety of knowledge with fundraising and development, coordinating scalable events and projects, management, marketing, radio, entertainment, video production, photography, community engagement, leadership, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Jim Dougherty (Treasurer, Board of Directors)
Jim spent his formative years listening to WMMS in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the most influential progressive rock stations in the country, in the early 70’s. His love for music was a constant companion while managing a career in the corporate world as an insurance agent and financial advisor, and raising a family. He also spent time as a licensed massage therapist and small business owner, and served on several nonprofit boards. Besides music, he loves baseball and travel. In 2014, he and his wife and four pets, moved to Asheville to enjoy retirement and take in the vibrant art and music scene. Jim became a volunteer DJ at Asheville FM in 2015 and his music show, Closer to the Edge, airs weekly.
Julio Tordoya (At-large member, Board of Directors)
Julio was born in Peru where he studied education and graphic design as well as photography and journalism. After teaching for four years in a rural community outside Lima in 2006 he moved to Charlotte NC to teach Spanish in an elementary school as a visiting teacher. After that, he moved to Asheville in 2010 where he got deeply involved with immigrant communities, working as a photographer in all of Western North Carolina.
After the US Social Forum along with Magaly Urdiales he founded MECA (Media Education for Community Action) to organize and train latinx people in areas of photography, reporting, editing, and broadcasting with the purpose to gain representation in the local media spectrum. Since 2014 he started JMPRO TV a local news channel running online. In 2018 Julio started La Neta a radio show on Asheville FM, with a series of segments and programs that are produced, recorded, and edited by members of our Latinx community.
At the moment Julio is working on creating new ways to contribute to the social justice movement from the side of the media, coming from the field of education he is willing to contribute their experience gained in the last ten years.
TL Allen (At-large member, Board of Directors)
TL Allen (best known as CousinTL) has been a part of Asheville’s community radio for over 11 years now. In 2009 TL volunteered to help rebrand the Mountain Area Information Network to M@in-FM. At WPVM, he produced and hosted the highly-rated Supa Dupa Show, a talk show that was syndicated through the Pacifica network in 24 cities and distributed as a podcast in 6 different platforms. He later produced, revised, and hosted Asheville New Radio (to be retitled Asheville NU Radio). From 2014 to the present, TL has been producing, engineering, and hosting the popular show, CousinTL’s Stank Free Radio on 103.3 Asheville FM.
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, TL grew up as a fan of the city’s unparalleled radio market. Not knowing how good he had it, TL would consume shows from different radio stations in all genres (talk and music alike), listening to diverse radio personalities. He studied radio and television production in high school and later studied art direction and commercial marketing in college and art school. After that he went on to be certified in graphic/web design and animation. During this period TL moonlighted as a “mid-act” comedian, touring with headliners in the Great Lakes region (Michigan, Indiana, and Canada) and later, the New York/New Jersey circuits.
Since 2002 TL has worked in consulting for operational workflows that became ISO certified in corporations such as Ford Motor Company and Goldman Sachs. He would go on to freelance at different media companies (USA networks, Lifetime, American Broadcasting Company [ABC], and FOX Sports) assisting with the conversion from analog to digital HD.
As a freelance graphic designer, TL has worked on and has appeared in printed advertisements, publicity materials, newspaper comics, and social media, having created designs not only for corporate companies but also “Mom & Pops.”
From 2002 to 2008, TL would volunteer at Symposia Bookstore (a community center and internet café/ show venue and discussion forum place that happened to sell used books) in Hoboken, New Jersey. TL helped to create the nonprofit’s mission, as the store became a major asset to the Hudson County community. TL. Allen was awarded the Symposia Award for Building Community in Hoboken. This allowed him to speak at many seminars and workshops sharing the achievements (events, discussion groups, technology sharing, and fundraisers) with other community outlets and nonprofits for their benefit.
CousinTL has been volunteering at Asheville FM since July 2014. Serving as a “self-proclaimed” older cousin, mentoring other volunteers on-air and off. In 2015, he became Asheville FM ‘s first production director. Then, TL served as an interim-program director to be named program director the following year. He continued to serve as an at-large member of the programming committee until January 2020. In 2016, with the encouragement of that year’s program committee, TL help developed an on-air “test the waters”-type opportunity for new volunteers. This experimental show is now known as The Sandbox Hour, and it has become a valuable part of the Asheville FM training protocol.
Buck Allen (At-large member, Board of Directors)
Buck Allen currently serves on Governance and External Affairs Committees at Asheville FM . Buck Allen has been involved with Radio, Television Production since 1986, where he was Production Coordinator for LIBERTY WEEKEND in NYC, 36 hours of prime-time programming and White House Ceremonies, the series was an EMMY Award winner and a large Radio and TV global and USA News Remote. Buck’s first job in live shows and events was cleaning bathrooms and operating a garbage truck. After failing several dance auditions for the Disney Character department, he crossed over into Live Events for the Walt Disney Company as the back end of an elephant. He still keeps in touch with the front end of the elephant, who is the Manager of Broadcast Radio & TV Press Event Remote for 100 ‘s of stations simultaneously.
Joining the DGA Union in 1988, Buck and his business partner, as Production Supervisor completed the first scripted dramatic TV Series from the DC Marvel Universe this leadership was the initial collaboration for Economic Development and LDD Local District Development for the Central Florida EDC Economic Development Commission, led by Cathy Savino. The project expanded the permitting process to 3 Cities and 4 Counties, with an annual spend in excess of $1.3MM. Within 3 years the annual direct spend of TV & Radio Production exceeded $30MM, in high tech and high wage jobs.
Buck is a Graduate of the University of Florida and later attended the Rollins Crummer School for MBA studies. While UF, as a Gator Buck was the Vice Chairman of the Student Programming enterprise which produced ticketed and free shows including than 26 concerts annually for Arena, Bandshell, and Coffee House venues, many of which were simulcast on Radio. Standout shows include the Pretenders, Tom Petty, Bo Diddley, REM and THE HALLOWEEN BALL with the Ramones. Buck was the head writer for the Creative Team for GATOR GROWL, the world’s largest student produced show, in 1982 starring Robin Williams to a sold-out stadium audience of 17,000. The event featured 22 minutes of Hasty Pudding satirical comedy, lampooning local issues and a Tom Petty Tribute original full length musical soundtrack WILBER’S DREAM. In 1983 as Director of Gator Growl, BOB HOPE ‘s performance as taped and sold for network TV Broadcast.
Buck’s 20 plus years in Broadcasting and Production involvement include 100 + episodes of Comedy News Talk Format of the WAYNE BRADY SHOW, which was the winner of Two Daytime EMMY awards. Buck Produced the Radio Remotes and News Pool Feeds for, Kerner International GRAND OPENING OF THE SUN ATLANTIS ROYAL TOWERS RESORT AND CASINO, a TVB seven target market tourism visitation and five public stock trading markets, IPO. The Live Event, by STYLE MAGAZINE Editor Collin Cowie, featured Ambassador Sidney Poitier, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Ozomattli, Albetia, Tito Puente, Jimmy Buffet, K.C. and The Sunshine Band and Fireworks by Gucci. The Radio Remote included 14 fiber broadcast radio facilities and 14 video crews with C-Band, K-Band, PAL, NTSC as well as custom designed underwater and water attractions equipment.
Clients for Radio & TV Production and Broadcast have included: The Walt Disney Company, Disney Paris, Buena Vista Television, Univision, Telemundo, HOLA Suzanna, ZED Bahamas, Asatsu DK Japan, BBC1, SABC South African Broadcast.
As a disabled individual Buck has a passion for Ableism, Equality, LGBTQ+ National Executive Task Force, Gender Equality, Sustainable USDA Rural Initiatives, Female Documentary Film Directors, Social Media Education, and Community Radio. Radio connects people and creates Community.
As a Founding and current Board Of Directors member and Vice President of THE BOB ALLEN FAMILY FOUNDATION, (TBAFF) direct grants affecting WNC include Gender Studies at Warren Wilson College, LEAF Global Ambassador, Disability, Beloved Asheville and Women at Risk. Nonprofit Impact Investment. Buck regularly attends and has periodic membership in ARC The Appalachian Regional reDocument1Commission, THE ALLIANCE OF ARTISTS RESIDENCIES, The Southeastern Alliance of Grant Makers, and The Impact Investment Forum.
Buck enjoys furniture refinishing, Pickleball, hiking the trails, rivers and sacred mountains around the WNC and the greater Appalachian Region.