• Audio Statement: Download or Stream to Media Player (mp3 format)
• Nomination Statement
• Candidate Questionnaire

My name is Noelle Hanrahan. I am a candidate for the KPFA Local Station Board and a listener sponsor. If elected, I will strengthen KPFA's ability to bring new perspectives to the air, building on and enhancing its commitments to broadcast voices of struggle, resistance, community empowerment and healing. This inclusive and dynamic vision can only be realized with a strong and committed local station board that works closely with staff and provides leadership and oversight for station operations. KPFA's ability to stay vibrant is based on its ability to incorporate new voices, voices from the diverse communities and from the diverse geographic regions it serves.

Lynne Stewart, widely acclaimed civil rights and criminal defense attorney, endorses my candidacy: "Even the left needs a little bit of light and accountability, Noelle Hanrahan, one of the best radio producers in the country, will make sure that women's voices are heard and that Pacifica continues its tradition of cutting edge journalism".

I will bring to the LSB extensive experience as a non profit administrator. For fifteen years, I have been the director of Prison Radio, a project of the Redwood Justice Fund, and currently serve as Board President of the Quixote Center. In the past, I have served on the Board of Directors of Media Alliance, Cable Car Awards, and as Vice President of the SF Building Inspection Commission (appointed by Matt Gonzalez). I have worked intensely at the station, first with the groundbreaking KPFA Apprenticeship Program, on the KPFA Program Council, and later as a staff member and Co-host and Associate Producer of Flashpoints.

If elected, I will bring to this position my demonstrated and profound commitment to excellence and diversity in radio broadcasting. I will also bring my commitment to promoting an honest, principled dialogue, one that is warm and gracious and honors all those who are stakeholders in the KPFA community.

My radio and television work includes being director of Prison Radio which records the voices of hundreds of prisoners. My most significant work has been producing Mumia Abu-Jamal's weekly "Dispatches from Death Row" which are aired on over 100 radio stations. I edited Mumia's most recent book of essays All Things Censored(Seven Stories Press). My work has earned 3 Golden Reel Awards from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters: an Emmy nomination in Northern California Newsroom on Channel 29: HomeTown Video Award, and the WAVE Award.

I have a B.A. from Stanford University in "Gender, Race and Class Studies". I live in Bay View/Hunter's Point in San Francisco and have two young children.

Respectfully,
Noelle Hanrahan
Please e-mail me if you have any questions: info@prisonradio.org

1. Why do you want to be on the Local Station Board?

I have been a member of the KPFA community for nearly twenty years and I would like to use my experience and energy in service to Pacifica's mission and in service to its listeners. I also believe that the Local Station Board plays a critical role in the station's working dynamic and health. As Lynne Stewart and Ralph Poynter said when they endorsed my candidacy: "Even the left needs a little bit of light and accountability, Noelle Hanrahan, one of the best radio producers in the country, will make sure women's voices are heard and that Pacifica continues it's tradition of cutting edge journalism".

2. How do you envision the Local Station Board working with the Pacifica Foundation, KPFA and the community?

The local board must be accessible and accountable. It must work to inform, engage, and respond to the needs of KPFA's staff, listeners, and the broader Pacifica network.

3. How can the station better serve its listeners?

We need to develop programming that features new voices, that challenge the status quo, and that serve as enlightening and empowering for our communities. We need the station to be fully staffed; it has been understaffed and under promoted for years and years. We need an aggressive outreach campaign that will bring the needs of the community to the attention of the staff of the radio station. I think the staff has to get out into the community more and start listening and the community has to have more access to the airwaves. We also need more cross promotion of programming.

4. Describe some actions you would take to increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities and to increase the diversity of the listening audience?

We need to develop and mentor programmers and programs that are by, for and about the underserved communities. In this way we will expand out audience, and educate further the audience that we have. I trust that if we open up our airwaves to new voices, that this will expand our base of knowledge and our level of empowerment. I also believe that we need to evaluate the strength of our transmitters. Give our FCC license, we do not consistently reach the area that we are licensed to cover; this is a serious issue for many listeners.

5. What sources of funding, other than listener donations, do you feel KPFA should solicit?

I do not believe that KPFA should have underwriters or sponsorship from any corporations. I do believe that we can better reach our donor base and expand our donor base. I have extensive experience in non profit fundraising and have created and managed a number of planned giving campaigns.

6. Please state briefly the skills, experiences, educational background, work history, organizational affiliations, areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of the Local Station Board.

I will bring to the LSB extensive experience as a non profit administrator. For fifteen years, I have been the director of Prison Radio, a project of the Redwood Justice Fund. I am the Board President of the Quixote Center. In the past, I have served on the Board of Directors of Media Alliance, Cable Car Awards, and I have served as the Vice President of the SF Building Inspection Commission (appointed by Matt Gonzalez). I have also served on the KPFA Program Council, been a member of the groundbreaking KPFA Apprenticeship Program, and been on KPFA's staff as Co-host and Associate Producer of Flashpoints, the drive time investigative news magazine.

If elected, I will bring to this position my demonstrated and profound commitment to excellence and diversity in radio broadcasting. I will also bring my commitment to promoting an honest, principled dialogue, one that is warm and gracious and honors all those who are stakeholders in the KPFA community.

My radio and television work includes being director of Prison Radio which records the voices of hundreds of prisoners. My most significant work has been producing Mumia Abu-Jamal's weekly "Dispatches from Death Row" which are aired on over 100 radio stations. I edited Mumia's most recent book of essays All Things Censored (Seven Stories Press). My work has earned 3 Golden Reel Awards from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters: an Emmy nomination in Northern California Newsroom on Channel 29: HomeTown Video Award, and the WAVE Award.

I have a B.A. from Stanford University in "Gender, Race and Class Studies". I live in Bay View/Hunter's Point in San Francisco and have two young children.

7. Do you anticipate missing any Local Station Board meetings die to family or job-related problems or inadequate transportation?

I do not anticipate missing any Local Station Board Meetings. I live in the Bay Area in Bay View/Hunter's Point.

8. On which Local Station Board committees are you interested in serving?

I am interested in serving on the General Manager selection committee and the Outreach committee.