I want to be on the Board of WBAI because I want to give back to this station, which fundamentally transformed my life and that of my family. My parents and I started listening to Gary Null daily when I was nine years old. Over the course of the next 1.5 years, my parents completely changed our diet to an organic, vegetarian one which, decades later, we still maintain. With the information my Mom learned from Gary, she was able to extend my Dad’s life by 14 years past the average for someone who had his pulmonary illness—unheard of by his allopathic doctors.
I want to give back to WBAI by helping it grow and thrive across a new generation of listeners and technology formats. As the only true listener-sponsored radio station in NYC, WBAI is in a unique position to offer content that is not beholden to corporate sponsors’ agendas: in other words, true, uncensored discourse, news and content. “The only way to fight misinformation is not with censorship but with more information.” What better way to get such information out than through a broadcasting station? As there is more and more censorship and “controlled” programming on mainstream media and big tech channels, and as more and more people are waking up to the reality of this phenomena, WBAI has an incredible opportunity to provide programming that reaches an ever-larger, more receptive audience that addresses a local audience and also extends beyond our NYC borders to reach more listeners and more funders.
How will I help do that?
1) By preserving the fundamentals of public-listener-supported radio. As a former practicing attorney, I am committed to the following for WBAI:
a) Ensuring that free speech reigns supreme by fighting even the smallest wisp of censorship;
b) Opposing any privatizing sale, lease, swap or shutdown of the station; and
c) Ensuring good, equitable governance of the station.
2) By driving innovative ways to grow WBAI’s audience and engage with our listeners in a cost-effective manner. I ran AOL’s digital innovation team, am the inventor on nine granted patents and am well-connected in the NYC and national media- and tech-circles. I am currently the CEO & Founder of an award-winning tech startup.
I will bring this innovation mindset to WBAI to help create unique and exciting ways for our audiences to engage with each other, our content and our on-air talent in digital formats. In an age of podcasts and real-time interactions, we can transform the “radio” experience and attract the younger, Internet-first demographic. I will leverage my network to attract new talent and partnerships as needed.
3) By finding ways to generate more revenue while operating cost-effectively. We can harness creative digital channels/means to drive more listeners and therefore, more funding. As CEO of a company that was bootstrapped, I have learned how to maximize funding while minimizing costs. I will bring this experience to WBAI to get the most enjoyable experience—on and off air—for our audience.
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