Steve Ahern OAM is an internationally recognised trainer, digital media industry expert and broadcast management consultant. He is the author of the text book Making Radio and the founding editor of the radioinfo industry trade publications in Australia, Asia and Africa.

Steve previously held various media industry leadership positions including Manager of ABC Radio in Sydney, Director of the ABU Media Academy in Kuala Lumpur and Director of the Radio faculty at Australia’s elite media university, AFTRS.

In his forty year media career, Steve has helped found a number of media tech start up companies and has steered the boards of media and communications companies around the world to commercial success. He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday honours list for his contribution to media and training.

Steve began his media career as a presenter, producer and announcer at commercial and community radio stations in Australia, then joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation where he managed radio stations in Newcastle (2NC), Canberra (2CN) and Melbourne (3LO).

He was the founding consultant for South Africa’s National Electronic Media Institute (NEMISA), and Afghanistan’s Nai Media Institute (NMI) and has developed training curricula for universities and media companies in Singapore and India.

Steve has also worked in Teaching, International Diplomacy and Executive Management.

He is a sought-after international conference speaker, with a degree in Education, qualifications in Workplace Training and post graduate qualifications in Business Management.

Golda Arthur is an award-winning audio producer who creates innovative podcasts that connect deeply with listeners. Over the course of her 20 year career in journalism, she’s worked on breaking news, produced long-form documentaries, and led teams of creative people on deadline. She has reported, edited and produced audio at the BBC World Service, and launched and run podcasts at Vox Media and MIT Technology Review. In 2023 she hosted and created Overlooked, an award-winning podcast about women’s health. She teaches audio reporting at Columbia University and lives in New York City.

Andrew Biggs is a five-time New York Festival winning audio producer. He has worked in radio for almost 20 years in New Zealand, Australia, the Middle East and currently owns and operates eyesound, working for New Zealand's largest radio and media organization NZME for Coast, ZM, Hits, Mix and more.

Journalist, author, and radio host. Andrea has created several programs for Radio3 Rai dedicated to the world of radio. He worked at the radio news at Rai and also at Radio1 as the author of the programme Golem. In 2009 he was New Media Manager at the EBU in Geneva. He published the book Radio Pirata (Persiani Editore, 2010). He is responsible for the original podcasts of the Rai RaiPlaySound portal. He is one of the members of the EBU Radio Committee. Every Thursday on Radio3 he talks about the news on the airwaves in the weekly radio show Interferences.

Marcos Calligaris is a journalist, translator, and author. He currently serves as Content Director at Cadena 3, one of Argentina’s leading radio networks. His international reporting has covered major global events such as the presidential visits of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2015) and Mauricio Macri (2017) to Moscow; the Russian presidential elections (2018); the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia; the Yellow Vest protests in Paris (2018); Brexit in London (2020); the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022); the Qatar 2022 World Cup; the state of exception in El Salvador (2023); the U.S. presidential elections (2024); the funeral of Pope Francis and the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV (2025); and the bilateral summit between Javier Milei and Donald Trump at the White House (2025).

In the literary field, he has translated into Spanish leading voices from the Francophone Arab world, including Tahar Ben Jelloun and Driss Chraibi. He is also the author of "450 Short Stories from Córdoba" (2023), a work that revives remarkable characters and episodes from Córdoba’s history.

Since 1995 Diego has utilized his hybrid skills as a scriptwriter, sound designer, musician, radio producer, video editor, post producer, director and tv producer. His impressive career trajectory has seen Diego working within the best first-line radio stations in Buenos Aires as an independent audiovisual producer, creating an unmistakable style through sounds and graphics among all media productions.

As Owner and Director of DMC STUDIO in Buenos Aires, Diego specializes in radio arts, sound stories, commercials, field recording, sound design and mixing. An industry pro known for award-winning work, he creates audiovisual productions for radio, TV, social networks and movies. 

Diego also serves as a Radio Producer for Urbana Play FM.

With 8 Gold New York Festivals Radio Awards, 1 Silver, and 6 Bronze, he has also twice earned the presitigious NYF Grand Award, the ultimate honor bestowed at the NYF Radio Awards Gala.

Mike joined News UK in 2017 to head Virgin Radio UK. He launched The Chris Evans Breakfast Show in 2019 alongside two new brand extensions – Virgin Radio Anthems and Virgin Radio Chilled. In January 2021 Mike signed and launched The Graham Norton Radio Show and that June launched the award winning Virgin Radio Pride UK, a station to broadcast through Pride season and the summer months to bring together the LGBTQ+ community. Mike is also a member of the News UK Diversity board which was set up to drive diversity throughout News UK.

Mike has worked in major markets across the world in his previous roles as Operations Director for Newcap Radio in Vancouver; Network Content Director for the UK’s Bauer City Network; Deputy Group PD for Nova Entertainment in Australia and Galaxy Group Programme Director for Global Radio in the UK.

An award-winning programmer, Mike’s accolades range from Sony awards in the UK,  ACRA’s in Australia and an award from the United Nations for a series on World AIDS Day. In 2017 Mike was made an honorary lifetime member of the UK’s Student Radio Association.

Jennie Cataldo is an award-winning radio and podcast producer. She is the creator of Accompany Studios, a radio and podcast production company based in San Francisco, California. Accompany Studios uses music, creative audio editing and sound design to produce audio stories that sing.

Jennie has produced a variety of audio content, including commercial and public radio programs, documentaries, short form series, specials and podcasts. The range of subjects in which she has produced programs includes history, music, culture, health, science, and technology. Her productions have aired on national and international networks. She has worked with celebrity host talent such as Dan Aykroyd, Susan Sarandon, and Reid Hoffman. Jennie has conducted hundreds of interviews with critically acclaimed recording artists, authors, critics, historians, entrepreneurs and academic experts. She works with clients such as the University of California at Berkeley, the United States Library of Congress, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
 

Jennie’s work has been recognized yearly at the International Radio Festival since 2015, where she has also served as a Grand Jury member and presenter. Jennie also serves on the New York Festivals Radio Awards Advisory Board.

Jennie’s interests include music history, cultural criticism and analysis, literature, narrative nonfiction, and record collecting. She studied Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University, where she graduated with honors and received a BA in 2012.

John Catlett is a life-long radio broadcaster, having been introduced to the medium as an undergraduate volunteer at WPRB-FM at Princeton University in 1960. He completed his studies with an MBA in marketing at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. After early experience at King Broadcasting Company in the Pacific Northwest and Time-Life Broadcast in New York City, he was tapped to manage CBS-owned WBBM-FM in Chicago just as the potential of FM radio was beginning to see its earliest realization. In 1972, he was transferred by CBS to take over WCBS-FM in New York City, where he installed the first major-market all-oldies format in July of 1972. Without any significant promotion support, the station suddenly became the first FM station to break into the top ten rated stations in the market, with a #5 ranking overall, and only six stations nationwide--AM or FM--had larger cumulative audiences. The oldies format survives to this day at WCBS-FM, with strong ratings.

Sam is an Associate Professor at Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom. He is the Course Leader for the MA in Media Production and teaches a range of undergraduate and postgraduate audio production classes for the College of English and Media. Before joining academia, he worked in the New Zealand and United Kingdom commercial radio industries. Sam is a Trustee of the Charles Parker Archive Trust and is a member of the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research, where he investigates development radio, documentary production and popular music studies. Sam has written chapters and articles about popular music and radio production for various publications, and his book, Music Documentaries for Radio, was published by Routledge in 2021. He continues to work as a radio freelancer, producing music documentaries for networks in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Jax Coombes is a Radio Producer with over ten years’ experience working at BBC Radio 6 Music making award-winning documentaries including a Palme D’Or in 2015 for John Grant’s Songs From A Dark Place, a documentary exploring the music, magic, and rise of Icelandic music.

Claire Cunningham (Rockfinch Ltd) is an Irish independent radio producer. She produced the weekly Poetry Programme on the Irish national station RTÉ Radio 1 for eight years and she has made dozens of culture-related documentaries for RTÉ lyric fm, Ireland's classical music station, and for RTÉ Radio 1. She has also been commissioned by BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3, RTÉ Jr and independent Irish stations, and her work has won a number of New York Festivals awards and been shortlisted for the Prix Marulic, the Irish PPI/IMRO awards, and the Prix Italia.

Many of her programmes have highlighted the achievements of writers and composers of the past whose work has been overlooked. She has collaborated on a number of occasions with academics to bring their research in an engaging and accessible way to a new, general audience outside the world of academia.

She is a former Chair of the Association of Independent Radio Producers of Ireland (AIRPI) and has also worked as Producer/Director on arts and educational TV programming.

With over four decades in radio and audio production, Sal D’Aleo is an award-winning narrator, sound designer, and producer whose career began at the legendary WNEW-FM in New York City. Rising from production intern to Creative Director in just four years, he quickly established himself as a creative force in broadcast audio.

During his tenure at WNEW-FM, Sal earned two New York Radio Festival Gold Medallions (1991 and 1992). He later joined Q104-FM, where his work was honored by the New York Metro Achievement in Radio Awards for Best Creative/Production Director, Best On-Air Audience Promotion, and Best Station-Sponsored Event.

After ventures in a dot-com startup, talk show production, and freelance work, Sal joined Sirius Satellite Radio, now SiriusXM, in 2002. Since then, he has continued to craft high-impact audio content while mentoring emerging voice talent, several of whom have gone on to secure agency representation and work professionally in voiceover.

Sal was also honored with the New York Radio Festival’s Bronze Tower for Narration in the 2025 competition, a distinction made even more notable as no Silver or Gold was awarded in that category.

Stuart started as a presenter in the late 1980’s at Radio Broadland in Norfolk.   Having presented every hour in the day with Breakfast show stints at both 103.4 The Beach and Fox FM he finally hung up his headphones and moved into management as Head of Music then Programme Director.

Stuart has spent the last 25 years as a Programme Manager in local, regional, and now national markets having worked for some of the biggest radio stations including Fox FM, Power FM, Chiltern Radio, Gemini FM, Heart and Capital. Playing a major part in the Heart rebrands and spending ten years running Heart in Kent he also launched Capital in Brighton.

Stuart is currently the Content Manager for Virgin Radio UK and has launched Virgin Radio 80s, Virgin Radio Pride, Virgin Radio Britpop and Virgin Radio Christmas to add to the networks portfolio of stations.

Nicholas Davis has worked in radio, television and print for the past three decades covering everything from current affairs to the arts. He has won many awards for his journalism, including a 2006 Gabriel Award. For the past 24 years Nicholas has worked at CBC as a reporter and producer -- most notably as Senior Producer for Metro Morning, the number one morning show in Toronto. He’s currently the Executive Director, Engagement & Inclusion.  He was previously  Manager of Program Development for CBC, where he was responsible for the ongoing development of local programming in radio, television and online.

Joni Deutsch is an award-winning audio professional and NPR veteran with 15 years of outstanding experience as a producer, content manager, and marketer/audience growth specialist. She is currently SVP of Marketing & Audience Development at The Podglomerate, the award-winning podcast services firm specialized in production, marketing, and monetization of outstanding audio content. She's overseen podcast audience growth for some of the largest shows and brands in the world including Netflix, The Boston Globe, PBS, NPR, Harvard, Stanford, CVS, and more. She spent the first decade of her career innovating audio and community engagement at various public radio stations and as a national host with NPR Music. Her strong communication skills and creative marketing style have led to national features by Bloomberg, Verge's Hot Pod, Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab, Buzzfeed, Axios, Slate, Digiday, Poynter, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and beyond, as well as speaking engagements at public media and podcasting conferences. Her work has been recognized by the Murrow Awards, Gracie Awards, and Webby Awards, in addition to the ONA's Women's Leadership Accelerator, Axios' "30 under 30," and Duke University TiP's Early Achievement Award. 

Head of Audio Innovation at Ultimate Media; Co-Founder the SA Podcasters Guild and Award Winning Podcaster

A prolific writer and social media commentator on the subject, Paulo hosts  various workshops and presentations with the country’s top media agencies as well as radio stations advising on best use of podcasts in a business environment.

He is also the course contributor to Podcast 101 at The Media Academy and co-ordinator of the popular Podcast Inspiration Days across Johannesburg and South Africa which gathers the leading minds in local podcasting.

This has given rise to the founding of the South African Podcasters Guild, a charge he has led to formalise podcasting in the country to make it more responsible and accountable as an advertising medium for brands.

He has previously served as a judge in the South African Podcast Awards and the South African Radio Awards.

Elaine Dunseath is an award winning radio producer at BBC Northern Ireland. A journalist for 15 years at the organisation, she has a background which includes researching and producing television current affairs investigations and television news.  She has a particular interest in highlighting the plight of society’s most vulnerable and helping those who often don’t have a platform to be heard. In June 2019, she and reporter Declan Harvey won bronze at the New York Festivals Radio Awards Social Issues category for ‘Did A Serial Killer Murder My Sister?’ which explored how alcoholism can often mean domestic abuse victims go unnoticed. Her most recent documentary is ‘Silent No More: Fermanagh’s Abused Children’ which showed how one person speaking out has forced a rural community to confront how widespread child sexual abuse was allowed to go on for years. 

Nathan Farr is an enthusiastic member of the community, best known for running the awards and festivals program for scripted, factual and sports programming at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Rosie Fernandez has worked in television, radio and theatre. She has an MA in English Literature and specializes in books, drama and documentaries. She's worked with the Stratford Festival to bring Shakespeare to the radio airways and ran one of CBC's first literary podcasts called Words at Large. Most recently, she's produced the radio programs Tapestry and Quirks & Quarks.

She has won numerous awards for her work including Best Interview from the Gabriel Awards (2024) and Best Radio Documentary from the Wilbur Awards (2021). At the New York Festival Radio Awards she has won Gold (2018) and Silver (2019) for Religion and Silver (2009) for Drama.

Padraic is now Head of Operations of Clare FM and Group Programme Director of Clare FM & Tipp FM. 

Over the past few years Padraic has directed & edited several documentaries including, “Vincent Hanley Cominatcha” the life story of one of Ireland’s greatest presenters, Vincent Hanley.

“Bullets & Ballads in the Banner County”.  2018 he produced “Top of the World” the story of a local Clare man becoming the first Clare man to climb Mount Everest.  It received a bronze award at the New York International Festival Radio Program Awards for The World’s Best Radio Programs in the Human-Interest category.

In 2019 Padraic and his colleague Gavin Grace produced “The Rescue” the story of Jim Warny a local Clare man that travelled to Thailand to aid in the rescue of the Wild Boar Soccer Team.  The documentary received a Gold award at the New York International Festival Radio Program and a silver award in the IMRO awards.

Over the years Padraic has produced several imagining packages for Clare and Tipp FM. 

Strong production and programming content remains Padraic’s passion in life.

Anthony Frangi is a senior media executive with more than 40 years’ experience across broadcasting, radio management, content strategy, training and consultancy. He is currently Head of the ABC Capital City Radio Network, providing strategic, operational and editorial leadership across Australia’s metropolitan talk stations.

His career spans public and commercial media, with senior roles as a presenter, producer, content director and station leader. He was appointed Manager of ABC Radio Brisbane in 2021, following his role as General Manager of 4BC and 4BH under Fairfax Media.

Anthony has also worked in television and academia, including at The University of Queensland, where he served as Program Director and Director of Learning, Engagement, Innovation and Development at the School of Journalism and Communication.

An experienced international trainer and speaker, Anthony specialises in media and emergency broadcasting. He has delivered training and presented at forums across the Asia-Pacific through organisations including ABC International, the ABU, AIBD and the Public Media Alliance, and has worked extensively throughout the region.

He has also founded a podcast production business, served as a jury member for the 2026 Australian Audio Awards, and is the author of Radio Toolbox, So You Want Media Coverage and Business Presentations.

For over 40 years, Tom has been covering the Beatles on radio and in print, and has been part of the official Beatles Channel on SiriusXM since it launched in 2017, hosting the “Way Beyond Compare” rarities show and the solo years spotlight “Beyond The Beatles”. He also co-hosts “Apple Jam”, celebrating the music and artists on the Beatles own Apple Records label, writes the “Across The Universe” show focusing on John Lennon’s life and music, and serves as Resident Beatles Expert on the “Fab Fourum” live call-in show, discussing anything and everything to do with the Fab Four.

He’s written and produced many specialty programs for the channel, including “Help From His Friends” chronicling the history of Ringo’s All Starr Band, and “Tug Of War – Track by Track” celebrating Paul McCartney’s landmark album, each of which received honors at the New York Festival Radio Awards.

Beyond his work in radio, he’s served as an Associate Producer for the CBS television event “Ringo & Friends at the Ryman”, a contributing editor to Beatlefan magazine, and emcee at the annual Fest for Beatles Fans.

A Grand Jury member since 2009 and recipient of the New York Radio Festivals United Nations Silver Medal (UNHCR) 2008 - The Stolen Generation, SBS Radio - Alchemy. 
Executive Producer and Leader in radio, podcasts, TV and digital media production, having played a lead role in establishing the SBS PopAsia brand from a start-up radio show on SBS Australia into a 24/7 Digital Radio Station, TV Show and digital content hub. Over 25 years Maddy has built significant relationships with audience, industry and community stakeholders, focusing on diversity, music and culture. As an Asian Pop subject matter expert (artists, companies + media) Maddy has negotiated interviews and access to artists as talent for radio shows, podcasts and performance. 

International Broadcast Consultant VALERIE GELLER is president of Geller Media International. She works with top broadcasters in radio, TV, internet throughout the world, and has consulted on several award winning documentary films. As a content and story consultant, trainer and seminar leader, Using proven methods she developed over years of working in 35 countries with over 500 radio and television stations, Geller coaches and trains on air personalities, programmers, producers and broadcast news journalists to become more Powerful Communicators Geller has worked with some of the top personalities in the world. to get, keep and grow their audiences using the proven POWERFUL COMMUNICATOR techniques - Geller, a former program director (WABC, New York) and News Director (K101, San Francisco) has been training broadcasters since 1991. Her clients in Europe have included LBC, The BBC, Australia's ABC Sweden's MTG,among others.

Slobodan Govorcin, holds B.A. in dramaturgy. He is Editor in Drama and fiction Department with the Public media institution RTV Vojvodina in Serbia. He has been a jury member of international radio drama festivals for several times now. He also served as a selector for national amateur theatre festivals and for the festival of monodrama for children. As the author of radio dramas he won awards at the Prix ex Aequo in Slovakia and at the Festival of Best Radio Shows in New York. He was preselected at Prix Europa in Berlin, Prix Nova in Bucharest, HearNow in Kansas and UK radio drama festival in Herne Bay.

Cathie has worked for various Radio and Television companies internationally including those in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

This award winning broadcaster has been extensively involved on both sides of the microphone

Scripting, performing and producing a wide range of programmes for television, radio, and live performance, has given Cathie the opportunity to work with professional musicians and actors in various countries, and with young people both in entertainment and education. More recently she has specialized in researching and producing historical entertainments.

Cathie has had a long association with NEW York Festivals almost since its beginning days.

Her website is www.cathieharrop.com

Dylan Haskins is a multi-award winning audio commissioner and executive producer at BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live responsible for podcasts including I’m Not A Monster, Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, Where Is George Gibney?, Bad People and Wheel of Misfortune. 

I’m Not A Monster and Where is George Gibney? won a total of six Golds, a Silver and the Grand Jury prize at the 2021 New York Festivals Radio Awards, contributing to the BBC also being awarded 2021 Broadcaster of the Year.  

In US and Canada, Dylan’s podcast commissions have also won a Peabody Award, an inaugural Podcast Academy ‘Ambies’ Award, the Banff World Media Festival ‘Rockies’ Award for Podcast of the Year, a RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Award and multiple Webby Awards including Best Documentary and Best Sound Design. In Europe, they’ve won the Rose d’Or for Audio, multiple UK Radio Academy ARIAS Golds, Silver and Bronze, the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Podcast of the Year, NME Podcast of the Year, British Podcast Awards 'Moment of the Year' Gold and multiple Silvers, Overall Prize at the Justice Media Awards in Ireland and been Specially Commended at the Prix Europa.

Murray Jones is an investigative journalist based in London. His narrative podcast series Heaven's Helpline (NZ Herald/iHeartRadio) exposed the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse by the Mormon church in New Zealand and beyond. It won double gold at the NY Festivals Radio Awards 2025 in the investigative and narrative/documentary categories, as well as several awards in New Zealand. Previously, he worked with BBC Panorama on the SAS Death Squads Exposed: A British War Crime? documentary, which prompted a judge-led inquiry into the deaths. He also led his own investigation into civilian casualty payments by the British military in Afghanistan, which was published by The Guardian and BBC News and received international coverage. For this and investigations into the arms trade published by Al Jazeera, he was a finalist for Amnesty International's Best New Journalist award in 2022. 

Gordon Katic is the founder and director of Cited Media, which publishes popular and critically acclaimed documentary podcasts that focus on topics related to science, health, and the environment. He is also host of their flagship podcast, Cited, which tells stories about the politics of research and expertise. When he’s not making podcasts about research, he is also himself a researcher. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, where he studies science journalism. He also teaches health communication as Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health. Previously, he was Visiting Professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology, where he taught the fundamentals of podcasting and audio journalism.

Aaron Kearney (OAM) is a multi-award-winning broadcaster, photojournalist, sports commentator, five-time New York Festival award winner, AIPS Sports Award Silver Medallist and Prodi Journalist of the Year.

He’s won a Walkley Award for emergency broadcasting and forged a career across newspapers, television, radio and social with Fairfax, Channel Seven Australia, the ABC and others.

He’s currently the Director of AKS Media International, ABC’s Pacific Disaster Preparedness Broadcast Unit Lead and host of “Pacific Prepared”.

Aaron is in demand across the globe for his experience in broadcasting, commentary, storytelling and innovation, working for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the BBC World Service and universities and corporations on five continents.

An inaugural Summer Fellow at Reuters Institute for Journalism at the University of Oxford, he holds a Masters Degree and Graduate Certificate from Griffith University, specialising in broadcast for development. He designed and produced the world’s first Pacific indigenous language live broadcast of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, co-produced Papua New Guinea’s historic coverage of the 2015 Pacific Games and has mentored female journalists from six countries at several international events, including the Commonwealth Games.

In 2020, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to broadcasting.

Further information:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-kearney-oam-28772767/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Kearney

James Keen is Managing Director for Tindle Radio’s Channel Islands businesses - Channel 103 in Jersey, Island FM in Guernsey and MuxCo Channel Islands, which operates the islands’ only local DAB digital radio network.

Channel 103 and Island FM deliver the highest and second highest weekly reach percentages in the British Isles respectively.

As Managing Director, James Keen leads both the commercial and content sides of the businesses. Prior to joining Tindle, James was Managing Editor for Global’s Heart stations in the east of England before which he worked for GCap Media, UKRD Group and Turner Broadcasting Systems.

James Keyte is Head of Audio Content at Penguin Audio UK, where he leads the editorial team responsible for producing some of the industry’s most successful and acclaimed audiobooks. With nine years’ experience in audio publishing, he has worked with leading authors and brands including Stephen Fry, Lisa Jewell and Roald Dahl. James has commissioned award-winning and bestselling titles, championed innovative casting, and delivered standout productions recognised by the Audies and the British Book Awards. His creative leadership spans major brands, original audio publishing, and high-profile releases across both adult and children’s publishing.

Jon joined Aramco in Saudi Arabia in 2022 to oversee its radio and podcast group.

He relaunched and rebranded Aramco's two heritage FM stations as Energy Radio 1  - Saudis number one hit music station and Energy Radio 2 - music beyond the mainstream, adding a further 8 Energy Radio X stations on the new Energy Radio KSA app. The stations picked up their very first New York radio awards in 2023.

An experienced international programmer Jon has previously worked as station director at market leading stations in Dubai (Dubai 92)  Ajman (Channel 4) and as VP of Radio for Mediacorps 11 FM stations in Singapore.

His Radio programming career began in the UK with brands including Smooth Radio, Rock Radio & Real Radio where he won 6 Radio Academy Awards before becoming a Radio Academy Awards judge for 5 years and Chair of Judges for the Nations and Regions awards,

Liz Lane is a multi-platform journalist with more than two decades' experience, creating national and international news and long-form content for TV, digital and radio. She is currently the Digital Investigations Editor at Sky News. She has produced and directed more than a dozen documentaries. Her team’s podcast series Unreliable Witness won Gold in the investigative journalism category at the New York Festival Radio Awards in 2025. She has brought in many scoops, including obtaining the first picture of Mohammed Emwazi (aka Islamic State’s Jihadi John) unmasked, which was picked up worldwide.

I am Chengchun Lee, and I currently work as a producer at the Central Broadcasting System in Taiwan. I have always been passionate about broadcasting and have worked for over thirty years at various radio stations both domestically and internationally. I hope to have more opportunities to connect with colleagues around the world through the New York Festivals.

STEVE LEVINE BIOGRAPHY 2019
Starting as a tape-op at CBS studios in 1975, Steve progressed to in-house engineer
and worked with many new wave, punk & pop acts including The Clash, The Jags,
The Vibrators, XTC & Sailor.
Beach Boy, Bruce Johnson was to play an important part in Steve's early career,
culminating with Steve producing an album for the Beach Boys several years later.
Steve produced all of Culture Club’s classic hits and the bands’ three multi-platinum
albums.
Artist collaborations include Honeyz, China Crisis, Gary Moore, Ziggy Marley,
Louise, The Creatures, The Angelic Upstarts, Lemmy & Motorhead, David Grant,
Jimmy The Hoover, Westworld, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Mis-teeq, 911.
Steve has collected a number of prestigious industry awards including a Brit Award,
Musicweek Award and a Grammy for his work with Deniece Williams.
He has appeared on many radio and TV programes, is a regular guest presenter of
the newspaper review on BBC weekend Breakfast and on BBC’s 6 Music with his
own show.
His radio production company produces original high quality radio content, in
particular, The Record Producers, a series for BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music.
Steve has won a SONY Radio Award and most recently 2 Gold Awards at the New
York Radio Festival.
He has also presented The Record Producers Live with special guests.
Busy producing new acts, recently XamVolo , Space, and a remix project for the
legendary Millie Jackson entitled “Exposed” for ACE records.
He is currently in the studio working with games producer MILKY TEA on the
soundtrack to a new exciting game HYPERBRAWL currently exclusive to the new
Apple Arcade platform .........more news soon ......and more tracks for
Electronic project Pretty Robotic.
Steve is a Director of PRS for music, a member of the MU, PPL,
and a LIPA Companion and recently elected to the new Liverpool Region Music
Council

Joanna Marsden is a researcher, writer and audio producer, whose documentaries for RTÉ lyric fm and Newstalk FM have received Irish PPI/IMRO Awards and New York Festival Awards.

Her programmes explore the emotional and artistic trajectories of individual lives against vivid backdrops of social history and place. She is drawn to women artists whose legacies have been neglected and often uses unpublished archive material to build a memoir-type thread.

With an M. Phil. in Irish Writing from Trinity College Dublin, she is interested in the intersections of audio & literature and recently presented an audio documentary in a theatre space. She works also on arts projects relating to landscape & climate, and lives, walks and cycles by the sea in Dublin.

Or Matza is an award-winning audio director, producer, composer, and the co-founder and Creative Director of AUDIO DRAMA Studios.
He developed Modular Perspective Audio (MPA), a production methodology combining binaural on-location recording with a spatial approach to staging and capturing dramatic performances.
His work ranges from audio dramas and documentaries to site-specific experiences, including Google’s official audio experience. His productions have earned a Promax Gold Award, a New York Festivals Radio Awards Bronze, and selection for the UK’s International Audio Drama Festival..

SIOBHAN MCHUGH is a multi-awardwinning narrative podcast producer and documentary-maker, author, critic, and academic. Podcasts she co-produced include  The Greatest Menace, about a gay prison experiment, winner of 17 awards. Described as ‘Australia’s S-Town’, it helped trigger an Apology in Sydney’s State Parliament to those imprisoned for homosexuality. Siobhan also co-produced acclaimed investigative podcasts by The Age newspaper: Phoebe’s Fall, Wrong Skin and The Last Voyage of the Pong Su, all of which won gold at New York Festivals. Siobhan’s book, The Power of Podcasting: telling stories through sound, provides rare insight into the art of narrative podcasts, earning a mention on the Oprah Winfrey Network and a recommendation from Harvard Nieman Storyboard’s Best Books on Storytelling Craft (2025). Siobhan co-hosts Heart of Artness, a documentary podcast about contemporary Aboriginal art in Australia. She has delivered keynotes and masterclasses on audio storytelling and podcasting around the world, from Chengdu, China to the Irish Writers Centre, Dublin, and spoken at media events alongside Kara Swisher and Dana Chivvis, producer of Serial. Siobhan is Associate Professor in Journalism (Honorary) at the University of Wollongong, Australia, where she founded RadioDoc Review, the world’s first journal of in-depth criticism of audio features and crafted podcasts.

Dr. Daithí McMahon is a critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning playwright, director, producer, sound artist and Associate Professor of Media & Culture at the University of Derby, United Kingdom. He is a specialist in historical fiction, social realism, and true crime drama with over 17 years of experience in radio and audio media production. Strong central narratives and an immersive audio experience are the hallmarks of his work and have led to him winning six New York Festivals Radio Awards, three PPI/IMRO Irish national radio awards and two invitations to compete at the Prix Europa. As an academic with an international profile his research interests lie in radio and audio media theory and practice; media sociology; digital culture and the critical political economy of the media industries. Through his practiced-based research, he is interested in capturing and disseminating culture, history, heritage and identity through oral history projects. His first book Producing Audio Drama: A Practical Guide for Radio & Podcast, is due to be published by Routledge in 2026.

Charlotte is the founder and award-winning producer of Almost Tangible (NYFRA Production Company of the Year 2019), whose approach to audio content delivers hyper-real, high-quality, immersive audio experiences.  With creative development rooted in experimentation and collaboration, Almost Tangible’s core aim is to make audio the absolute best it can be at storytelling by putting listeners at the heart of the action and artists at the heart of the artistic process.   Weaving binaural recording with techniques from film and theatre to create a new audio paradigm, the result has been described by the RNIB as “like having a film running in your ears.” 

Eduardo "Lalo" Morino is an Argentine based voice actor, broadcast journalist, scriptwriter and a professor. He's been working in the global Media Industry for the past 28 years.

Since 2000, he's been part of Radio Mitre, the leading radio station of Argentina, as a service journalist, voice talent, and radio host. Currently, Eduardo's hosting "Overnight, weekend edition" (narrative, music & news) and has been part of teams widely recognized by the industry and audiences all over the world (King of Spain Award, New York Festivals, Martin Fierro, among others).

He is the institutional voice of La100FM and Golf Channel Latin America, and he works as Voice Actor and Voice Talent in various fiction, commercial and documentary productions (DirecTV, MTV, Tenaris University-Techint Group, and others).

He is a full professor at ISER (Instituto Superior de Enseñanza Radiofónica) and an independent media & comunication consultant.

Eduardo strongly believes that Radio can empower ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Leslie Mullen is an award-winning media producer with extensive experience in multiple formats, including photojournalism, documentary video, radio, podcasts, television, and stage performances. Demonstrated success in communicating complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences. Proven ability to orchestrate high-profile events and collaborate effectively with teams to achieve project goals. Adept at streamlining processes and improving efficiency to deliver high-quality productions within budget and timeline constraints. Developed projects for NASA, PBS, and The National Geographic Channel, as well as many other platforms.

Previously, she was the writer, producer and host of the NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory podcast “On a Mission.” A science photojournalist for over 20 years, she also is a documentary filmmaker and was previously the producer for Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “StarTalk” podcast.

Greg is an award-winning broadcast, online journalist and podcast producer, with more than 20 years experience in the Australian media. He’s currently Supervising Producer for The Case Of podcast with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Prior to this Greg was Executive Producer of Audio Documentaries at LiSTNR where he made Should I Spit and Jailbreak. He was also Executive Producer of the geopolitical podcast, Take Me To Your Leader, Dark Shining Moment about Russian disinformation techniques and the investigative podcast, Wrong Skin. 

Greg researched and narrated Motherlode podcast about the early days of computer hacking in Melbourne culminating in the birth of Wikileaks, and Gertie's Law, an award winning podcast from the Supreme Court of Victoria. He also worked in TV for ABC’s current affairs program 7.30 and as presenter on ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraph and Law Report program. Greg’s awards include Walkley Mid Year prize, two Gold New York Festival Radio awards, two Australian Podcast Awards including Best Podcast, a Melbourne Press Club Quill award and Best All Media from Australia’s Rural Press Club.

When not chasing down yarns, Greg can be found paddling a swollen river or falling off a mountain bike on some remote trail.

Götz Naleppa, Drama Director & Sound Artist of Naleppa Audio Productions, Germany. He is one of the most well-known and experienced directors of radio plays in Germany. He is a member of the Radio Advisory Board.

In the 90’s he constructed the radio play departments of Germany Radio (Cologne / Berlin) as a radio play director, and from 1997 to 2008 Mr. Naleppa acted as director and dramaturg for Germany Kultur (responsible editor for sound art). Since January 2009 he has concentrated his talents on projects serving as a freelance director (radio drama, media arts), translator, and composer in digital sound art.

The NYF Gold trophy for “ZENScapes – City, Land, River” for Sound Art is Gotz Naleppa’s fourth

Alexis Pancrazi is the executive producer for Open to Debate. Prior to joining the team at Open to Debate, she worked for the documentary film production company Fork Films, and during her time there launched and produced the podcast All Ears with Abigail Disney. She got her start working in television at WNET, Bill Moyers Journal, and his subsequent television program, Moyers & Company. She lives in New York City with her family, only a short drive from where she grew up in New Jersey.

Started my radio career in 2002 as a DJ with a renowned radio station in Delhi, moved on to become the Program director with Radio City91.1FM, Mumbai in 2009. Have been part of the Radio city family ever since. I now work in the capacity of Vice President & Programming director-west for Radio City. I head 11 markets including mumbai and Regional head- Audacity, creative solutions.

In all close to 22 years of experience in my favourite forever- Radio!

Jason Phipps is Founder and Director of Sonoloom Podcasts and was Head of Content & Development at the London based independent podcast studio Chalk + Blade creators of titles such as 'Takin On Putin' and 'Spygate F1'. Previously he was a commissioning editor for BBC Sounds podcasts where his Peabody award winning Sounds team developed and commissioned podcast-first titles for BBC Sounds audio app including 'I'm Not A Monster', 'The Cipher', 'Where Is George Gibney?' and 'Have You Heard George's Podcast?'. His work is across genres from blue-chip journalistic serialised podcasts to blockbuster dramas. Previously he was Head of Podcasts at The Guardian newspaper, and is an award winning podcast/radio producer and believer in the unique power of audio in the digital age.

It’s been a memorable, two-decade journey shaping the sound, soul, and strategy of radio. I’ve built a career rooted in creativity, intuition, and a deep understanding of how audio influences lives. My journey began as a Radio Jockey in Bengaluru, where I worked across three major radio stations and discovered the power of voice, storytelling, and the intimate connection radio creates with its listeners. Over the years, that passion evolved into a larger vision — one that blends content leadership with cultural insight and strategic thinking.

As the Regional Programming Director for Hyderabad and Chennai at Radio City, I’ve led programming ecosystems that balance innovation with audience relevance. I collaborate closely with on-air talent, creative teams, marketers, and brand partners to design shows, build IPs, and craft soundscapes that have won accolades Nationally & Internationally. From developing high-performance formats to scaling hyper-local content, I focus on creating multiplatform experiences that trigger emotion, build habit, and strengthen brand recall.

Fluent in English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi, I understand how language shapes loyalty and how regional authenticity can drive national impact. At the core of my work lies a simple belief: great content doesn’t just reach people — it stays with them.

HELEN QUIGLEY (Production Director, B7 Media) has more than nearly twenty years’ experience in producing audio for broadcast. 

As an audio drama producer for B7 Media, her credits include Theatre of the Damned - inspired by a true story about the birth of the Grand Guignol in 1920s Paris; The Space Race; Greenborne - a post-Covid radio soap opera; the Audible psychological thriller series The Effect; and for BBC Radio 4 the courtroom drama Barred and a modern dramatisation of the ancient Indian poem Mahabharata Now. Helen has also produced numerous audiobooks, including Marriage Bureau, Scimitar into Stanley and comic artist Dave Gibbon’s autobiography, Confabulation.

Other producer credits include national network radio promos for the BBC’s flagship TV programming, including Blue Planet II, Industry, Line of Duty, The Apprentice and Wild Isles and mastering for Fresh Air Production’s The Big Steal and Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place app.

Previously she was a Continuity Announcer and Producer for Comedy Central UK and in 2006 was also responsible for producing of the UK’s first branded comedy podcasts; Robin Ince’s Show and Tell and Utter Shambles.

In 2023, B7 Media launched Audioteria, a new purchase platform for the distribution of independently made audio drama.

Will is an award-winning producer and journalist with 15 years of experience in audio storytelling. He is currently at The Times and Sunday Times where he specialises in investigative podcast series.  Will joined the papers in 2019 to help launch and produce the multi-award winning daily news podcast, The Story.

He was an executive producer on the podcast series Cocaine Inc. that won gold at the 2025 New York Radio Festivals. 

In 2023 he made the award-winning show Poison, about a man in Canada selling suicide products which was turned into a two-part TV documentary for the British broadcaster Channel 4.

Will was part of the team at The Times that won gold at the British Podcast Awards in 2021 for their series Who Killed CJ Davis?. The judges said it was a ‘podcast that has changed our perception of the true crime genre.’

He began his broadcasting career at BBC Radio York and has worked at various local and national radio stations in the UK. He mentors postgraduate students at the University College London on the Audio Storytelling for Radio and Podcast Masters. 

Nicolás Harry Salvarrey is an Argentinian radio journalist, producer and works as a co-host in Perros de la Calle, Urbana Play 104.3. He also writes about beer, food and lifestyle as a freelancer.

An astute media professional with an insightful & cross cultural work experience of more than 18 years, comprising of Radio, Television, Digital Marketing & Events. Expertise in revenue optimization through branded content and creative client solutions.

Previously, Vice President, Radio City (Dainik Jagran)

Eimear Shannon is executive prodicer, The orning Show ith Kathryn Thomas on Dublin's Q102.  She previously was a producer and content creator with TodayFM, Ireland’s largest national commercial radio station. She is currently working on the flagship mid-morning radio show ‘Dave Moore on TodayFM. Since beginning her career on TodayFM, she has produced numerous shows across genres from current affairs to magazine and lifestyle to music and entertainment shows. 

She is also currently a producer and editor on the Irish podcast ‘Why Would You Tell Me That?!’, hosted by Dave Moore and comedian Neil Delamere. In 2024, she was a judge on the ‘RTE Choice Music Prize’, tasked with selecting for the best Irish album of the year.

She is a graduate of the BA in Journalism in DCU. A proud Dubliner, she lives and works in the city but is never too far away from popping into her parents to visit her beloved dog and cat.

Des has over 45 years experience programming radio stations and producing multi-format projects for clients including the BBC, Austereo, Sky Arts, BP, Orange, O2, Capital Radio, Xfm, Channel 4, Channel 5, Absolute Radio, SiriusXM, BMG and Universal Music.

In 1999 Des co-founded Ten Alps plc with Alex Connock and Sir Bob Geldof.

Ten Alps re-branded as Zinc Media in 2016 and has since grown to become one of the UK’s leading multimedia production & distribution companies that creates factual documentary, unscripted television series and cross-platform content for UK and international broadcasters, brands and businesses.

Des has won numerous international broadcast awards for projects featuring a diverse range of presenters including Johnny Depp, Bono, Antonio Banderas, Susan Sarandon, Jerry Hall, Guy Pearce, Jim Kerr, David Bowie, Cameron Crowe, Tony Visconti, Deborah Harry, Smokey Robinson and Kate Moss.

Mikyung Shin is the executive producer at Busan English Broadcasting Foundation(BeFm), the one and only English Radio Broadcasting in Busan, South Korea.

She has been a dedicated member of the broadcasting field since 1996, at first as a host for various shows across television and the radio in TBC, UBC and TBN in South Korea

She began her tenure at BeFM as a producer, in charge of programs spanning various genres, from news to entertainment.

Mikyung has also created many radio documentaries on multiple issues. She has received the Gold Award at the 2018 New York Festival International Radio Program Award.

Natalie Steed is an audio producer and executive producer who established her production company, Rhubarb Rhubarb in 2020. She has won multiple awards for her distinctive work which tends to focus on music, culture, history and ideas. Guided by curiosity and care, Natalie’s work aims to bring listeners closer to the people, cultures, and environments at the heart of the stories that catch her ear.

As Producer of the acclaimed Folk on Foot podcast, she creates evocative soundscapes that place folk musicians in the landscapes that inspire them. Her sensitive approach to location recording, musical storytelling, and ambient sound design contributed to her winning Gold for Best Music Producer at the 2019 Audio Production Awards as well as multiple nominations and wins at the ARIAS, British Podcast and Independent Podcast Awards.

Natalie Steed’s audio portfolio reflects a deep commitment to imaginative, human-centred storytelling. Her work for BBC Radio 3 and 4, including series and programmes such as A Short History of Solitude and A Charlestonian Rhapsody: the story of Edmund T Jenkins, demonstrates her talent for shaping complex ideas into accessible, emotionally resonant narratives. 

Natalie Steed also often works with academic institutions and their researchers to develop creative and award winning audio content, most recently creating series such as The Cockney Yiddish Podcast and The Sound of Anger for QMUL.

Gary Stevens was a member of the full-time and then casual staff of the BBC for more than 20 years. Based chiefly at BBC World Service, he first worked in the newsrooms as a studio manager and, later, on all aspects of radio production and presentation, specialising in educational radio features, and leading on radio and online educational projects in Beijing and Cairo.

Gary joined the journalism staff at the University of Lincoln (UK) in 2005, teaching courses at all levels including radio and multiplatform news production. He was programme leader for MA Journalism, and completed doctoral studies focusing on science journalism education. On leaving the university in the summer of 2025, Gary was made an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Education and Communication. He also serves as a member of the jury for the international media excellence awards, the AIBs.

Divna Stojanov (1997, Novi Sad, Serbia) is a playwright, dramaturg, theatre scholar, and theatre critic. She is a recipient of the Sterija Award for Theatre Criticism "Miodrag Kujundžić".

She earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Dramaturgy from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. Additionally, she participated in a professional development program for young playwrights called New Stages Southeast, organized by the Goethe-Institut. In recognition of her exceptional academic achievements, she was awarded the Matice Srpske Endowment Award in 2020. Divna also received scholarships from the DAAD and BAYHOST foundations, as well as from the Provincial Government of Styria in Austria. During her time in Austria, she completed a multi-month writer's residency in Graz. She has been the Editor of the Drama Department at Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) for the past five years.

Her plays have won numerous awards at regional and international competitions: she received the ATAK Award for the best short play on Balkan themes, the Zmaj Children's Games Award for the best contemporary monodrama for children, and the "Pavle Janković Šole" Award for the best play for children. She is the author of the plays Love me, Tinder, Major and Helena, Invisible Care, and Odysseus – The Creation of a Hero. She has authored original radio plays (My Fat Friend, Invisible Care), as well as radio adaptations and stage adaptations for children and adults (White Nights, Heidi, Muddy Horse, Zelenbaba's Gifts, Everything is Fine...). Her plays have been translated into English, German, and Polish. Matica Srpska published her play collection, A Show Never Seen Before.

She publishes theatre research and theoretical papers in journals such as Scena, Teatron, NITI, and Detinjstvo, as well as theatre reviews on the SeeStage portal. She is a member of the Association of Theatre Critics and Scholars of Serbia and ASSITEJ Serbia. In the field of theatre pedagogy, she facilitates drama workshops for children and teenagers at the Novi Sad Children's Cultural Centre.

Ken Sweeney is the Showbiz Editor for The Irish Sun and has been an independent radio documentary maker working with RTE Radio in Ireland. His first doc, an RTE Radio Doc One One, 'Michael Jackson's Irish Driver' won an Irish PPI Radio Award and was a finalist in the New York Festivals in 2014. Since then his music docs on artists including influential Scottish band The Blue Nile have aired on RTE Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music, and CBC. His latest RTE music doc 'REM Out Of Athens' won Silver at the 2018 New York Festivals. An ex-musician, he is a regular contributor to Irish radio as Irish Showbiz Writer 2016 and 2018 at the Irish Newspaper awards ENDS.

Pearl Tan is the director of Pearly Productions, a creative boutique creating content with a focus on diverse stories. She is a Senior Lecturer in Directing at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). In 2020, Pearl was listed in the Most Influential Asian-Australian Awards and named the most influential in the Arts and Culture category. In 2016, Pearl was named a Woman of Influence by the Australian Financial Review and Westpac. She has served on multiple boards including AFTRS, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the Australian Directors' Guild and more. Pearl is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting). She also holds a Bachelor of Communications (Media Studies) from Edith Cowan University and a Master of Commerce (Strategy, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship), which she completed on a Business Leader Postgraduate Scholarship from the University of Sydney. Pearl is currently completing her PhD in Creative Practice at the University of New South Wales, where her research focus is on the experience of diverse creatives in the screen industry. As part of her PhD, she released a multi-award-winning fictional podcast entitled Diversity Work.

Poonam Taneja is an investigative journalist, broadcaster and writer. She specialises in human rights, security and global affairs and has reported from across the world including Afghanistan, Syria, Bosnia and India. Poonam is also the host and reporter for the multi-award winning podcast series “Bloodlines”, a co-production between BBC Asian Network and CBC Podcasts.

Mark Travis has over 20 years of experience in the music industry as a writer, producer, broadcaster, lecturer, and audio engineer. He is currently Managing Consultant of Media Production to the New York Philharmonic. Since 2011, he had been the Associate Director of Media Production for the New York Philharmonic and was Director of Media Production.  He produced the orchestra's broadcasts since 2003. Mark has also served as a writer and producer for Chicago’s WFMT Radio Network where he wrote and produced over 800 nationally syndicated programs--notably the Bucksbaum Family Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcasts. As a freelance producer, he has produced English-language broadcasts for the Berlin Philharmonic, The Suisse Romande Orchestra, the Bavarian State Opera, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, and the Milwaukee Symphony. Mr. Travis also has an extensive discography as a music-producer that ranges from recordings by the New York Philharmonic to recordings by William Warfield, Jenny Lin, Jeffrey Siegel, Susan Merdinger, Maria-Luisa Rayan-Forero and the Chicago Chorale for Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos

Juan Villalba is a media producer with over thirty years of experience in radio, television and newspapers. He directed the radio station at the National University of Cuyo, in Argentina, for ten years. He has received numerous nominations at the New York Festivals for various podcasts. He won a Silver Award for the documentary Grandma and a Bronze Award for the podcast Voices of Freedom. In his home country, he won two Martín Fierro and a Broadcasting —some of the most prestigious awards there.

Joan Webber has been producing award-winning CBC radio documentaries as a passion and profession for more than two decades. Her work has taken her around the world, from Moscow to Mexico City to Moose Jaw — pursuing stories of con artists, dissidents, snipers and even a self-professed tiger tamer. She also co-produced and wrote the CBC podcast A Death in Cryptoland. Joan hails from Saskatchewan but makes her home on the West Coast. She is currently the senior producer of CBC's Audio Documentary Unit. 

Andrew has been a media professional since his start with the BBC at the age of 16 in Liverpool. His career has taken him through TV production, war zone news and current affairs coverage, music and speech broadcaster, network producer and editor, and imaging producer. He won his first imaging award in New York back in 1998 where he collected a Gold and Grand award with his then production partner Paul Daniels. The New York Radio Festival was a career changing part of his life, and watching talent from around the world shine and be recognised is still a great privilege.

Alongside his media work Andrew is an International Communication consultant for the public and private sectors as well as a cross-cultural expert. He is also an outdoor survival trainer. Andrew lives a mostly quiet family life in a remote part of the English countryside

Karena has presented a highly regarded Arts magazine program on Bay FM 99.9 for 25 years.  She is the founder of  the Narratives Library which is the world's largest archive of authors reading 5 minutes from their own work. In the course of a year she conducts hundreds of interviews with creatives across all arts media. She is also an accomplished Fine Artist, songwriter  and a composer of incidental music for Film  and T.V. If she is not in the studio, she is in her garden!

From a childhood fascination with rhythm and storytelling to shaping the future of media, Tim Zunckel has built a career driven by creativity, innovation, and a deep passion for broadcasting. The introduction of community radio in South Africa ignited his journey, and since then, he has navigated the media landscape across commercial, community, retail, and public radio by leading teams, driving strategy, and elevating brands.

An award-winning radio creative, manager, and programmer, Tim is recognised as an audio ambassador and media practitioner working globally with his Team at Tuned Media. His experience spans content creation, media operations, and business strategy, with a strong focus on coaching, training, and mentoring professionals and organisations who want to thrive in a changing media environment. Innovation and creativity influence his unique management and mentoring approach, helping others find their voice and purpose in the industry.

Beyond the studio and boardroom, Tim is a lover of all things retro, from Vespas, vinyl records, to vintage finds. He thrives on the power of storytelling, the rhythm of music, and the inspiration found in books and travel. He enjoys social tennis but his game is as good as his ability to tell jokes!