The 2020 Charlotte Podcast Festival featured more than 50 podcasters and audio storytellers! Get to know their work and watch their archived sessions.
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Adrian Parrish
Production/Sound Designer, Detective Samwel Sift’s Loved One Discovery or Recovery Services
Adrian considers himself first and foremost a storyteller. He is an audio producer, a writer, and a performer. He has written and done audio production for award winning films and podcasts and performed in storytelling shows, in live theater, and improv. Doing production and sound design for the audio drama podcast “Samwel Sift, Post-Apocalypse Detective” was a culmination of a lot of those experiences. He’s always looking forward to new projects and new creators to collaborate with.
Alexis Carreiro
Host, Fun with Failure
Dr. Alexis Carreiro (AKA “The Pitch Prof”) is a business communications coach specializing in pitches, presentations, storytelling, and public speaking. She’s helped clients at HBO and the United Nations enhance their executive presence, level up in their careers, and communicate with confidence. Her mission is to transform lives by empowering people to find their voice and confidently share their ideas and stories with the world. Over the last twenty years, she’s worked as a college professor, documentary filmmaker, published author, and voice over director.
Alexis Jo Bruce & Levin Chaskey
Co-owners, Charlotte Star Room
Podcast co-host, Poolside Pod
Levin & Alexis are owners of Charlotte Star Room. In 2014, Inspired by the growth of the new digital marketing landscape, they moved from NYC to Charlotte and founded Star Room – a corporate video production & boutique music development studio.
Levin is a digital filmmaker and media producer with a passion for every aspect of the creative process in media production. Star Room Video offers full Live-Streaming services, and concept-to-completion creative services for video production.
Alexis is a music manager & vocal coach. She is passionate about helping to create a more equitable music community in Charlotte. Star Room Music offers services catered to independent artists, focusing on everything from their musical content to branding and marketing.
Alicia Tetteh & Erin Steele
Co-hosts, 2 Elephants in the Room
Alicia Tetteh, LCSW, RYT-200 identifies as a change agent. She is located in Charlotte, NC and practices as a mental health therapist at her own practice. Alicia teaches social work at the collegiate level and supervises provisionally licensed therapists. She loves family time, reading and anything outdoors. She co-hosts 2 Elephants in the Room podcast with a colleague and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
Erin Steele is a bilingual (Spanish) marriage and family therapist with a specialization working with trauma survivors. She is also trained to work with a wide range of mental health and social disorders.
Alyssa Pressler
Podcast Studio Manager, Hygge Coworking
Podcast Host, Open Book (for That’s Novel Books)
Alyssa is the director of marketing for Hygge Coworking and helps manage the Hygge podcast studio. She also has her own podcast, Open Book, for her business That’s Novel Books, and she helps market and plan the Hygge podcast, Zero to Ten, which is currently on a brief hiatus.
Andy Goh
Host, The Goh Show
Podcast consultant, GohJo Studios
In 2014, Andy Goh began podcasting as a hobby to have fun with and talk about disc golf. In 2019, he left a salaried job in digital marketing to start GohJo Studios, a full-service podcast production and consulting company. Since then he’s been helping my clients make their podcast ideas become reality, and allowing them to express their dreams, vision and passions to the world. He loves what he does because podcasts allow us to share ideas all around the world to anyone who has an internet connection.
Anita Rao
Host, WUNC’s Embodied
Anita fell in love with interviewing and storytelling as a Women’s Studies and International Studies major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest. She’s currently a regular host and the managing editor of The State of Things on WUNC. In 2019, she founded a recurring series on that program called Embodied, which features intimate conversations about sex, relationships and health. Embodied debuted as a podcast in August 2020. From 2015-2020 Anita also co-hosted and produced the millennial feminism podcast She and Her.
Ashley Mahoney
Co-host, The Charlotte Post’s Sports Charlotte
Ashley Mahoney covers a little bit of everything at The Charlotte Post, an award-winning weekly publication serving Charlotte’s Black community. She created Queen City Football Chronicle, a branch of The Post, to cover collegiate through professional soccer in the Charlotte area. She also founded the Mary Mahoney Memorial Scholarship in honor of her late mother to help a Charlotte artist pursuing higher education.
Bernadette Joy
Host, Dear Bernadebt Joy
Bernadette Joy is the founder of Crush Your Money Goals. She teaches how behavior, relationships, emotions, and environment impact our money decisions after paying $300,000 of debt with her husband in just three years.
Her style is inspiring and relatable for those overwhelmed and overlooked by traditional financial services. Her street cred includes national media including NBC News, MarketWatch and USA Today, over 20 podcast appearances and as friendly face on local television.
When she’s not teaching money, you can find her dancing and singing karaoke, starting new DIY home projects, and eating copious amounts of chocolate with her husband in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Brian Baltosiewich
Executive Producer / Founder, Queen City Podcast Network
An Emmy-nominated writer/producer/director, Brian spent 28 years in broadcast television before developing and launching his own production company (Balto Creative Media, and The Queen City Podcast Network) in March of 2018 (queencitypodcastnetwork.com). The network has grown to more than two dozen Charlotte-produced podcasts and is regarded as the first hyper-local podcast network in the country.
Brian has been producing audio content on the internet since 2001, and has spoken about podcasting and the power of local on the national stage at Podfest in March of 2020, and the Podfest Global Conference in August of 2020. He also serves as the Director at the Carolina School of Broadcasting. His book, “The Podcast Pep Talk” can be found at Amazon.com. Originally from the Detroit, Michigan area, Brian and his wife Terra lived in Tucson, Arizona before moving to Charlotte in 2010.
Brian Lafontaine
Host, You May Have Seen
Brian Lafontaine is the host and creator of the You May Have Seen podcast. Brian has been working as a professional actor in film, tv, commercials, voice over and theater for almost 30 years. You May Have Seen him in The Hate U Give, Homeland, Stranger Things, TURN, Nashville, The Vampire Diaries, Dawson’s Creek and most recently on the hit Netflix show, Ozark. Brian talks to and shares the stories of other lifelong career actors who aren’t household names on You May Have Seen.
Cale Evans
Host, The Podcast from Hell
Cale is a corporate drone by day and at night becomes an improvisor, an actor, a comic, a producer, and a podcast host. You can hear him on The Podcast from Hell (a podcast that makes fun of podcasts) or on Bat Boys Comedy. He performs regularly with Now Are the Foxes and Improv Charlotte, and is the founder of Queen City Comedy which hosts a huge comedy festival every year that the world isn’t upside down (so not this year).
Chad Lawson
Composer, Lore
Host, Calm It Down
As a Steinway artist with multiple #1 releases, Chad Lawson has a different approach to classical music; don’t make it classical. His #1 iTunes release re:piano (2018) pushed the envelope of what the piano sounds like, with an album composed of loops, effects and layers of textured landscapes; all from a piano. Lawson was invited to share his approach to re:piano on NPR’s Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. He has also been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR’s All Things Considered. His solo work has a relaxed, meditative feel that draws on both the sonorities of classical music and the freeform nature of jazz improv.
Chad is the official composer for the Amazon television series, Lore, in addition to the podcast titled the same. His music has also been used for The Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries and Viceland, as well as numerous commercial placements, including clients such as Chevrolet, IBM, Microsoft, Purina, Delta Airlines, USB Financial, Asprey of London and many more.
Chris Cureton
Art & Media Director, On Life and Meaning
Chris Cureton is Art & Media Director for the On Life & Meaning Podcast hosted by Mark Peres. It is a podcast that explores “what matters most” as guests discuss their talents, projects, motivations and higher purposes. Chris Cureton is also the Creative Director for BOLTGROUP, a Charlotte design innovation firm where he shares his experience and dedication to designing communication tools for great ideas.
Chris Miller
Producer, WFAE’s Charlotte Talks
A veteran of Charlotte radio news, Chris joined the “Charlotte Talks” staff in January 2016. Chris is a native of the Charlotte area. His love of radio was born out of Hurricane Hugo hitting Charlotte on his 7th birthday. He still has the Fisher-Price radio his family listened to as they rode out the storm.
Chris has won numerous awards for his coverage of some of the biggest stories Charlotte has seen, from ice storms and political conventions, to a mayoral corruption scandal and Charlotte’s struggles through the Great Recession.
Chuck Holliday
Founder / Video Podcast Producer, Suite 929
Chuck Holliday is an American television producer and camera operator. Holliday is a former field photographer for WNBC 4 New York and Bloomberg Television. He has also produced on shows such as On the Rocks (LXTV), The Singles Project (Bravo), The Brooklyn Crew/Brooklyn 11223 (Oxygen), and networks such as Sportsnet New York (SNY), Conde Nast’s The Scene and FOX Business Network. He is currently Founder & Producer of online video network Suite 929.
Colin Cole
Host, Transition from the Trenches
Host, Legends of Kinnick
Cole Cole is a 13-year NFL veteran who spent time in Green Bay and Seattle before retiring with the Carolina Panthers. He recently graduated from the Carolina School of Broadcasting, and podcasting has become a passion. In his spare time, he enjoys retirement with his family.
Don Garrett
Co-host, The PoppaDon Podcast
Don Garrett is a comedian and co-host of The PoppaDon Podcast. The self-proclaimed “Chuff Daddy” of Comedy, Don’s clean and witty comedic style is suitable for people of all ages. Named one of Charlotte’s Up-And-Coming Comedians in 2017, Don continuously captivates and amazes audiences. Don produces and hosts shows all over Charlotte in addition to performing all over the southeast coast. Don’s motto is “Laughter is an instant vacation.” He loves every opportunity to provide a journey filled with laughter. Don has opened for Sean Patton & Last Comic Standing winner Jon Reep.
The PoppaDon Podcast is based in Charlotte, NC. Hosted by comedians Chris Monds & Don Garrett, The PoppaDon Podcast brings you exclusive interviews with some of the best up-and-coming entertainers from Charlotte & beyond.
Erin Breeden
Host, The Advent Coworking Podcast
Erin Breeden couldn’t find the job of dreams, so she created it for herself. Erin is the CEO and Head Mermaid of BlueTide Creative, a boutique public relations, strategy, content, and branding firm. In addition to her client work, Erin is also a contributing writer and editor for local, regional, and national publications. Erin has been a guest on numerous podcasts, but it was with her client, Advent Coworking, that she became a podcast host. In addition to hosting, Erin has assisted with editing, writing, marketing, and strategic planning for podcasts.
Garrett Tichy
Founder / Owner, Hygge Coworking
Garrett Tichy is the Founder and Owner of Hygge Coworking and Hygge Wellness, the co-founder of That’s Novel Books, and a co-founder of the @supportlocalorelse movement. A strong advocate for Charlotte, Tichy is well-known for his natural ability to build diverse and inclusive communities of professionals – both online and in-person – who appreciate and thrive on the power of connection to elevate an initiative, a workplace and a city.
Hugh Roberts
Host, BackYardFooty
Hugh Roberts is a 7-year professional soccer player, currently playing for the Charlotte Independence. He created a podcast 2 years ago called “BackYardFooty,” giving you behind-the-scenes journeys and experiences on professional careers. He’s had on stars from the MLS, overseas and coaches that shed light on the obstacles they’ve had to overcome. This year, Hugh partnered with ESPN 730 The Game, the local sports radio show and with the independence to help bring notoriety to soccer here in the communities. He recently started his first charity foundation here in Charlotte, raising money and awareness for three local charities that are in constant need. It’s always been a vision of his to help grow soccer in this country and help communities grow, and it’s an honor to be in this festival!
Jameka Whitten
Founder / Audio Producer, JSW Media Group
Jameka S. Whitten is a public relations professional and business executive with 20 years experience working in new media, publishing, brand management and strategic communications with strong ties to the music, entertainment, culinary arts, sports and fashion industries. She has owned and operated JSW Media Group, a public relations and brand management firm, since 2006. Additionally, Jameka is a freelance writer, lifestyle blogger and content creator. A forever Wildcat, holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in Communications Studies with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism. Her master’s in Organizational Management is from the University of Phoenix.
Jay Brown
Co-host, Cheers Charlotte Radio
Jay Brown helped found Cheers Charlotte Radio in June of 2013 alongside Ford Craven and Cesar Leyva and has been consistently recording ever since. Cheers Charlotte Radio continues on a bi-weekly basis and is the most listened to craft beer radio show in the Charlotte, NC market. Prior to forming Cheers Charlotte, Jay was a producer of a sports talk show here in Charlotte for over 10 years. In addition to his podcast work, Jay is also the Sales and Marketing Director for Artisan Beverage Group.
Jenn Lang
Senior Editor of Digital News and Product, WFAE
WFAE’s senior editor of digital news and product, Jennifer Lang has guided WFAE’s growth in the digital space. As the station’s first web producer, Jennifer was the only WFAE staffer working on the station’s website for many years. Jennifer transitioned WFAE.org through changes of content management systems, created the station’s first social media presences, and assists with digital coverage of Charlotte news. Jennifer is a graduate of Auburn University.
Jeremy Markovich
Host, Our State Magazine’s Away Message
Jeremy Markovich is an award-winning writer and producer with Our State magazine in North Carolina, the host of the “Away Message” podcast. In his previous Charlotte life, he worked as a reporter and producer at WCNC-TV, was a columnist for Charlotte magazine, and occasionally moonlighted as a raft guide at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. He’s also written for SB Nation, Politico, and CBS Sports. He lives outside of Greensboro with his family and his dog.
Jill Bjers
Co-Host, WFAE’s Work It
A true Jill-of-all-trades: mother, wife, author/playwright, organizer, and travel junkie. Jill’s 20+ years working for an airline has helped feed her curiosity about people and cultures while giving her the flexibility to raise her son and explore the world. During this time, Jill founded Open Charlotte, led Code for America’s volunteer brigade, and continues to help organize TEDxCharlotte. She loves to speak worldwide about tech, community, and civic engagement. It’s not just the speaking that excites her (though she has always been a talker), but the opportunity to create a broader community. Her work focuses on assisting people in sharing their stories and promoting advocacy. With a love of storytelling and a curiosity about people, it’s no surprise she has found her interests colliding as a co-host for the Work It podcast. When she isn’t working or trying to tackle an endless to-do list, Jill loves to bake and teach her cat Spanish.
Joe Hunsaker
Event Manager, Blumenthal Performing Arts
Host, In the Spotlight & American Timelines
Joe is an Programming & Events Manager at Blumenthal Performing Arts and a podcaster, as well as an occasional comedian, improviser and actor.
John Short
Host, The Charlotte Podcast
John works for a bank. More importantly he is a lover of history, passionate about street cars and has been voted one of the best Twitter accounts in Charlotte.
Joni Deutsch
Podcast Manager, WFAE
Host, WFAE’s Amplifier
Joni Deutsch is happy to call Charlotte (North Carolina) home as podcast manager for WFAE (Charlotte’s NPR station). In addition to leading the public radio station’s podcast productions (including the Apple Top 200 investigative podcast She Says), Joni is also the creator and host of WFAE’s Charlotte music podcast Amplifier, named “Best Podcast” by Charlotte Magazine and honored for excellence in arts and music podcasting by the local Edward R. Murrow Awards and The Webby Awards (called “The Internet’s Highest Honor” by The New York Times). Joni is an NPR Music contributor and has previously acted as guest host of the legacy NPR Music program Mountain Stage.
Deutsch’s strong communication skills and creative marketing style has led to national features by NPR, Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Poynter, and local spotlights from CharlotteFive, the Charlotte Agenda, Creative Mornings/Charlotte, The Gantt Center, The Blumenthal Performing Arts, Discovery Museum and the Carolina School of Broadcasting.
A supporter of innovative media and a mentor to digital women leaders, Deutsch has been recognized as an Emerging Voice Scholar by the Alliance for Women in Media, the West Virginia State Journal’s “40 under 40,” the Online News Association’s Women’s Leadership Accelerator, the Charlotte Agenda’s “30 under 30,” The United Way of Central Carolina’s Young Leader Awards, Duke University TiP’s Early Achievement Award, and Gracie Awards.
Karen Morrow
Co-host, The Black Guy Who Tips
Karen is a podcast comedian with The Black Guy Who Tips Podcast, a fully listener-supported podcast that she hosts with her husband Rod. Rod and Karen have been together since they were 16 and have been married since 2002. The show has been mentioned in The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg.com, Vox.com, BET.com, and written about on Ebony.com. The show has also been featured on NPR, Revolt Tv, and Vice News Tonight on HBO. Besides consistently being the number one comedy podcast on Podomatic.com and in the top 100 of comedy podcasts on Stitcher Radio, the podcast has featured guests such as, podcasters Keith and Chemda from Keith and the Girl, comedian Roy Wood Jr, Adult Film Star Sara Jay, ESPN contributor Bomani Jones, Journalist Jemele Hill, comedian/activist Elon James White, rapper/singer Phonte Coleman, comedian/writer Rae Sanni, comedian Janelle James, poet/author Bassey Ikpi and NBA Shooting Guard Anthony Morrow among others.
Over the years the show has become a space of empathy, inclusion, progressiveness while still maintaining wit and humor on a daily basis.
Keith Cradle
Host, Crafted with Cradle
Dr. Keith Cradle is the Director of Youth/Juvenile Programs for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.He currently on the Board of Directors for The Bechtler Museum (www.bechtler.org), ArtPop Street Gallery (www.artpopstreetgallery.com) and the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. He has previously sat on the Board of Directors for Inspire the Fire, Carolina Voices, Hands on Charlotte, the Charlotte Advisory Committee for the Knight Foundation and the Ada Jenkins Center. Keith’s involvement and commitment to the development of the arts and cultural sectors of Charlotte have led him to help start the Jail Arts Program at the Bechtler Museum that works with youth in detention discover, develop and harness their appreciation for art.
Kevin Patterson
Host, Detective Samwel Sift’s Loved One Discovery or Recovery Services
Kevin Patterson is the Writer and Producer of of “Samwel Sift, Post-Apocalypse Detective.” It is a Zombie Noir audio drama that is a little more “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” than “The Maltese Falcon.” We are about to release our second season. Kevin has written and produced for sketch, web series and short films for many years.
Konata Edwards
Host, Charlotte Newsmakers
Co-host, Locked On Hornets
Konata Edwards is a man who’s first love of radio turned into a wonderful romance with podcasts in the audio space. He’s worked in some form of media since 2015 and has produced hundreds of podcasts for many different companies. He is currently producer for WFAE’s “All Things Considered.” He’s also very uncomfortable with writing bios, so he hopes you enjoyed this one.
Landis Wade
Host, The Charlotte Readers Podcast
Landis Wade was a civil trial attorney for 35 years before exiting stage left into a podcast studio in the fall of 2018 to try a more creative life in his 60s. He’s now a recovering trial lawyer, host of Charlotte Readers Podcast and author of The Christmas Courtroom Trilogy, whose third book in that series—The Christmas Redemption—won the Holiday category of the 12th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards. He won the 2016 North Carolina State Bar short story contest for The Deliberation and received awards for his non-fiction pieces, The Cape Fear Debacle and First Dance. His short work also has appeared in Writersdigest.com, The Charlotte Observer, Flying South, Fiction on the Web and in various anthologies, including by Daniel Boone Footsteps. He’s now two years and 150 episode into his life as a podcaster interviewing and helping authors give voice to their written words and is one of those podcasters (he thinks, probably because he is a lawyer) who uses a written Guest Agreement to protect his podcast.
Laura Brache
Reporter, La Noticia / WFAE
Laura Brache is a Report for America corps member who works with WFAE and La Noticia, a Spanish-language newspaper based in Charlotte, to cover immigration and deportation issues facing the Latino community. She also reports on the Charlotte immigration court, one of the toughest in the nation with the second highest deportation rate in the country in 2019.
Most recently, Brache worked as a production coordinator at her alma mater, the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. She previously worked at WFMY News 2 in Greensboro, where she covered the Silent Sam statue controversy at UNC Chapel Hill and the campus shooting at UNC Charlotte. She is enrolled in Syracuse University’s online master’s program specializing in Journalism Innovation.
Laura Vinroot Poole
Host, What We Wore
Laura Vinroot Poole is fashion retail’s entrepreneurial rule-breaker. Her experiential in-store events and eye for emerging design talent mixed with venerable brands have established Capitol as the premiere boutique of the South, transporting women’s wardrobes into a magical world of expressive style. Capitol is a journey to dressing well, and Laura has long guided that mission by offering a combination of femininity and attitude, with lots of patterns and color, never holding back an opportunity for a woman to stand out in a crowd.
Lisa Speer
Host, Branding BFF
Lisa Speer is the creator and host of the Branding BFF® podcast, the founder of the strategic branding company Speerhead Solutions, and a sought-after speaker on all things branding. Branding BFF captures candid conversations with entrepreneurs about the essential role branding plays in their businesses’ successes. Speerhead Solutions uses brand strategy as the foundation to help new businesses create their brand and existing businesses strengthen their brand, so they can attract their ideal clients and shorten their sales cycles. Whether podcasting, public speaking, or working one-on-one with clients, Lisa takes the mystery out of branding (spoiler alert: it’s bigger than your logo!).
Lindsay Foster Thomas
Content Director, WUNC
Content Director Lindsay Foster Thomas is a multiplatform journalist and audio storyteller with a background in public radio that began right here at WUNC.
Thomas was a producer, then managing editor for The State of Things. At Marketplace, she helped re-launch a weekend personal finance program and embedded with an investigative reporting team for the project “York & Fig,” which examined gentrification through the study of one Los Angeles neighborhood. Thomas was senior producer for the first iteration of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Broadcasting with host Celeste Headlee. She was also part of the national production team at WAMU in Washington that launched NPR’s 1A with founding host Joshua Johnson, serving as its senior managing producer.
Thomas is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Journalism and Hampton University. Her expertise includes innovative audience engagement, live events and serial storytelling with an attention to diversity.
Mark Peres
Host, On Life and Meaning
Mark Peres hosted the On Life and Meaning podcast in which he interviewed 100 persons about what mattered most in their lives. He authored ‘On Life and Meaning: 100 Essays Inspired by 100 Guests.’ He founded Charlotte Viewpoint, a magazine about civic and cultural life. He is a professor of leadership and ethics at Johnson & Wales University.
Matt Olin & Tim Miner
Co-hosts, The Biscuit CLT Podcast
The universe has always wanted Matt Olin & Tim Miner to create together. They met in high school in Charlotte and have been creative co-conspirators ever since. As the founders of the nonprofit Charlotte Is Creative, they develop events, initiatives and content that bring awareness, advocacy and support to Charlotte’s burgeoning creative community. And, they like to laugh.
Michael Falero
Radio Producer & Independent Podcaster
Michael Falero is a radio journalist and podcast producer. He reported on energy and the environment for WFAE for 2019 and 2020. He’s also produced a number of podcasts for the Queen City Podcast Network as well as a politics podcast based in Boston. He’s a graduate of the acclaimed Transom Story Workshop on Cape Cod and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His radio work has appeared on NPR, WFAE, WCAI, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Transom.org, and PRX Remix.
Mike Collins
Host, WFAE’s Charlotte Talks
WFAE’s Charlotte Talks is hosted by veteran Charlotte broadcaster Mike Collins, who has been a fixture in local radio and television since 1985. His knowledge of North and South Carolina combined with his 30 years experience in broadcasting has helped to make Charlotte Talks one of this area’s favorite programs.
Miller Yoho
Co-host, The Charlotte Podcast
Miller has worked in sports communication and marketing for over 8 years and now spends his days as the COO and Director of Strategy for The Littlefield Co. His true passion is dad jokes and puns that neither his family or podcast cohost find funny.
Morgan Givens
Host, Flyest Fables
Morgan Givens is a storyteller, writer, performer and audio producer based in Washington, DC. (He also helped out with NPR and WAMU’s 1A). He is a recent graduate of the Transom Storytelling Workshop where he produced the piece Runaway. He’s been featured in the Washington Post, Buzzfeed, performed at Story District’s Top Shelf, NPRs Invisibilia and participated in the 2017 panel on the Art of Nonfiction Podcasting at the AFI Documentary Film Festival. He’s also the creator of the podcast Flyest Fables where he uses immersive sound design and beautiful writing to bring back to life the kid in all of us. (Transcriptions are available starting here.)
We all feel, in some place within us, that not only are stories necessary, but they are essential to our shared humanity. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie cautions against the dangers of having a single narrative. As an audio producer, and a transman, Morgan’s goal in life is to tell the stories that challenge the narrative surrounding marginalized peoples, and to allow people to speak for themselves – to share their stories, elevate their voices, and shed a little light on some of the darkness.
Ohavia Phillips
Host, The Oh Show
Hailing from Charlotte, NC, by way of Brooklyn, NY, Ohavia (“Oh”) Phillips, is one of a kind! Her charisma, infectious personality, & warmth make her a favorite in any circle. Ohavia is a successful media personality, content creator, speaker and emcee around the city of Charlotte and a thriving talk show host of her OWN show, The Oh Show. Ohavia has been named Influencer of Charlotte, Media Maven of Charlotte as well as highlighted on many multimedia platforms from social media, to television and print! When her hand is not on the microphone, it’s on her books! Ohavia is currently pursuing her doctorate in business administration with a focus in organizational management and crisis communication. Ohavia says she loves people and connecting with #OHMAZING and impactful individuals to impact communities. Her slogan is: I’m ready to serve. And she does just that!
Perrine DeShield
Founder, Eclecs Creative Agency
Co-host, 1stGens & The Quarantine Couch
Perrine DeShield is a first-generation Liberian-American who is always fascinated with the world around her and constantly pulling inspiration from her heritage. As an avid podcaster, Perrine has created two shows, 1stGens and The Quarantine Couch, and has taught podcasting workshops.
In addition to working full-time with Belk headquarters for the past six years, community is a top priority for Perrine. She serves on the Young Professionals board for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and is part of a collective of black Charlotte creatives celebrating art and culture through BlkMrkt CLT and more.
Perrine was honored as one of Charlotte Pride Magazine’s Best of the Best 2019, was nominated as a Best of Belk finalist in 2019 and named one of the Top 30 Under 30 Future Leaders of Charlotte by Elevate Lifestyle magazine in 2018.
Rashmili Vemula
Host, Carolina Desi
Rashmili Vemula was born in Hyderabad, India and moved to South Carolina with her family at the age of 8. She was raised in the American South with South Indian traditions and has used her upbringing to shed light on being a “third culture kid”.
She co-hosts a podcast, Carolina Desi, which aims to share their immigrant experience and growing up in the American South. It has become a light-hearted way to advocate for the South Asian diaspora from a millennial perspective.
Rashmili currently works at a software development company and continuously advocates for diversity and inclusion of women and minorities, as she is both, within the technology industry.
Rod Morrow
Co-host, The Black Guy Who Tips
Rod is one of the hosts of The Black Guy Who Tips Podcast, a fully listener-supported podcast that he hosts with his wife Karen. Rod and Karen have been together since they were 16 and have been married since 2002. The show has been mentioned in The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg.com, Vox.com, BET.com, and written about on Ebony.com. The show has also been featured on NPR, Revolt Tv, and Vice News Tonight on HBO. Besides consistently being the number one comedy podcast on Podomatic.com and in the top 100 of comedy podcasts on Stitcher Radio, the podcast has featured guests such as, podcasters Keith and Chemda from Keith and the Girl, comedian Roy Wood Jr, Adult Film Star Sara Jay, ESPN contributor Bomani Jones, Journalist Jemele Hill, comedian/activist Elon James White, rapper/singer Phonte Coleman, comedian/writer Rae Sanni, comedian Janelle James, poet/author Bassey Ikpi and NBA Shooting Guard Anthony Morrow among others.
Over the years the show has become a space of empathy, inclusion, progressiveness while still maintaining wit and humor on a daily basis.
Ryan Pitkin
Co-host, Queen City Nerve’s Nooze Hounds
Ryan Pitkin is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Queen City Nerve, Charlotte’s alternative newspaper supplying all things news, arts, food, music, entertainment, events and culture. Ryan began his journalism career at Creative Loafing as an intern, later becoming the writer of CL’s satirical column, The Blotter, and eventually becoming the News Editor. Other publications he has written for include Charlotte Viewpoint, CLTBlog and others. During his college career at UNC Charlotte, he worked as a news reporter and Arts & Entertainment editor at Niner Times.
Sarah Delia
Host, WFAE’s She Says
Sarah Delia covers criminal justice and the arts for WFAE. Sarah joined the WFAE news team in 2014. An Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, Sarah has lived and told stories from Maine, Indiana, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina. Sarah received her B.A. in English and Art history from James Madison University, where she began her broadcast career at college radio station WXJM. Sarah has interned and worked at NPR in Washington DC, interned and freelanced for WNYC, and attended the Salt Institute for Radio Documentary Studies.
Sheri Lynch
Co-host, Oddcast
Sheri Lynch is an award-winning broadcaster, the author of two best-selling books, and holds a Masters Degree in Social Work. Sheri is also an intermediate-level tap dancer, a crazy cat/dog lady, and the mom of 2 or 6 or 9 kids, depending on who’s home for dinner. A Philadelphia native who was raised in northwestern Wyoming, Sheri is a bookworm, a pop culture fanatic, and an enthusiastic fan of aliens, Bigfoot, zombies, abandoned places, and goofy Americana. When she’s not tormenting Bob Lacey, you can usually find her dragging her husband to visit The World’s Largest Spatula or something equally riveting.
Skye Wilson
Co-host, 1stGens
Skye Wilson is Liberian-American, with her mother being of the Bassa tribe and her father of the Vai tribe. Her parents immigrated to the US in 1979 eventually settling down in High Point, NC in 1982. Skye is the youngest of four children and the only daughter – she was obviously spoiled rotten.
Skye attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies – Media Studies and went on to earn her Master of Science in Education in Mental Health Counseling at Old Dominion University. She is currently working full time in higher education focusing on educating folks on and creating safer spaces for folks with marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions; additionally, she is working part time on becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor. She’ll likely get her Ph.D. sooner rather than later since her existential guilt has turned her into a glutton for academic punishment.
She brings humor and lightheartedness to all that she does and is excited to share her story of growing up as a 1st Gen while also lifting up the voices of other 1st Gens. She loves exploring intersectionality and it’s role in shaping folks’ personalities, experiences, and world views.
In her free time Skye enjoys biking, singing, listening to podcasts, window shopping for home goods, watching HGTV and foolishly believing she can remodel a kitchen, and playing with her dog Maddox.
Stacey Simms
Host, Diabetes Connection
Stacey Simms is the host of the award-winning podcast, Diabetes Connections and the author of “The World’s Worst Diabetes Mom.”
She’s been named to Diabetes Forecast Magazine’s “12 People to Know,”
For more than a decade, Stacey hosted Charlotte’s Morning News on WBT-AM, the city’s top-rated morning radio news show.
Diabetes Connections has been awarded the WEGO Health Top Ten Best in Show, Podcasts; The Podcast Awards – People’s Choice – Top Ten Health; and Diabetes Forecast Magazine: Top Diabetes Podcasts.
Stuart Watson
Host, ManListening
Stuart Watson created MANLISTENING as a way of elevating the stories of strong women who bounce back, but first he spent a whole career talking!
Stuart is a three time Peabody award-winning investigative reporter who broke big stories for more than 20 years at WRAL-TV and WCNC-TV here in the Carolinas. Now he’s traded up to podcasting and has a forthcoming book: WHAT SHE SAID & WHAT I HEARD: HOW ONE MAN SHUT UP AND STARTED LISTENING.
Stuart graduated from Vanderbilt University and won a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard University (insert eyeroll emoji). He and Lorraine Jivoff co-produced three millennials and one Gen Z: Erin, Glynis, Colleen and Jack.
Tamberly Ferguson
Director of Digital Media & Strategy, WDAV
Tamberly is the Director of Digital Media & Strategy for WDAV Classical Public Radio and manages podcast operations. She works to expand the lens of discovery and exploration in Classical music and elevate new perspectives in the genre.
Tiffany Bryant-Jackson
Co-host, Nerd Skool
Tiffany is a local actor who moved to Charlotte for the theatre scene over a decades ago. She may not be a CLT native but her love for the city runs deep. A community arts advocate, teaching artist, loyal podcast listener, Tiffany finds herself continually exploring creative avenues.
Tommy Tomlinson
Host, WFAE’s SouthBound
Tommy Tomlinson is the author of the memoir The Elephant In the Room (Simon & Schuster), about life as an overweight man in a growing America. He is also the host of the podcast “SouthBound” in partnership with WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR station.
He has written for publications including Esquire, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Garden & Gun, and many others. He spent 23 years as a reporter and local columnist for the Charlotte Observer, where he was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in commentary. His stories have been chosen twice for the “Best American Sports Writing” series (2012 and 2015) and he also appears in the anthology “America’s Best Newspaper Writing.”
He has taught at Wake Forest University as well as at other colleges, workshops and conferences across the country. He’s a graduate of the University of Georgia and was a 2008-09 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.