Meet the members of BPR's Community Advisory Board Cohort

BPR's 2026/2027 CAB cohort at a meeting in early 2026.

Christy Agner
Christy Agner is a native NC’er and lifelong public radio fan. She joined the Community Advisory Board to support listener expansion of BPR Classic and to honor BPR’s sustained community coverage following the impact of Hurricane Helene. Agner manages external relations at WCU, following former state government leadership roles in rural advocacy, legislative affairs, and strategic planning. Agner has experience with statewide nonprofit and governmental Boards, and policy work on broadband, economic development, and programs impacting women and girls.

Agner holds a BA in Political Science (NCSU), where she was a student-athlete, and is pursuing a Master's in HR at WCU. She is a fellow of the NC Institute of Public Leadership, NC Rural Center’s REDI program, and past chair of the State Employees Combined Campaign. Agner is active with Lutheridge camp in Arden, Smoky Mountain Civitan club, and Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. When not exploring WNC trails and waterways, you’ll find her cheering on the NCSU Wolfpack and WCU Catamounts.

Kathleen Barnes
Kathleen Barnes is an old-fashioned, unreconstructed journalist, a passionate advocate for First Amendment rights, and a lifelong activist for social justice. A devoted supporter of Blue Ridge Public Radio, she lives in Brevard, North Carolina, with her husband, Joe Castro, and two unruly dogs.

Barnes reported from some of the world’s most consequential moments, including the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, where she worked for ABC Radio and Television. She later served as CNN’s Africa correspondent based in South Africa during the transition from apartheid to majority rule and the rise of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. Her reporting also covered breaking news across Somalia, Mozambique, Zambia, and North Africa.

After returning to the United States in 1993, Barnes worked for CNN in Atlanta as an editor, producer, and occasional on-air reporter. Since moving to Western North Carolina, she has written widely on natural health, authored numerous books, and remained active in civil and voting rights advocacy. She joined the Community Advisory Board in 2022.

Patrick Boyd
Patrick Boyd is an audio engineer with extensive experience in public radio and podcast production. An Appalachian State University graduate, he has served as a technical director for NPR’s Morning Edition and Up First, and now works as a Senior Audio Engineer at Vox on Today, Explained.

Outside of work, he enjoys biking Bent Creek, playing music, and spending time with his wife, Kaitlyn, and their dog, Samuel.

James Clinton
James Ernest “Jim” Clinton lives in Nantahala and has built a diverse career shaped by curiosity, hard work, and entrepreneurship. Born in Mississippi, he graduated from Monticello High School in 1959 and earned a B.S. in General Business from Mississippi College. In 1962 Jim completed an M.S. in Economics at the University of Southern Mississippi, and began a career spanning banking, broadcasting, publishing, real estate, and small business ownership.
Jim began at Deposit Guaranty National Bank which he left as Assistant VP Marketing. By 1970, he had entered broadcasting, owning and managing radio stations through Clinco, Inc. In 1982 Clinco, Inc. began founding a number of newspapers most of which were published until sold 1998.

Jim began at Deposit Guaranty National Bank which he left as Assistant VP Marketing. By 1970, he had entered broadcasting, owning and managing radio stations through Clinco, Inc. In 1982 Clinco, Inc. began founding a number of newspapers most of which were published until sold 1998.

He later managed Clinton Oil Company 1998 to 2003 and Clinton Timber, LLC from 2002 to 2024. Jim currently owns and operates Clinton Cabins, LLC. in Nantahala. Jim is widowed and still very active in his business and community.

Pip Coe
Pip returned to the Bryson City area in late 2019 after a 30-year hiatus in the Mountain West. A veteran of the outdoor industry, her career began with a decade at NOC and evolved into a 30+ year legacy at NOLS, which is based in Lander, Wyoming. There, she balanced the technical demands of being a field instructor with 18 years as the Alumni and Development Director on the senior leadership team. Today, she remains active in both worlds—guiding on WNC rivers and leading NOLS courses.

As a passionate and dedicated supporter of public radio, she values BPR for its in-depth journalism, its non-biased reporting and commitment to community-wide accessibility. To Pip, public radio isn't just a station—it’s a constant companion for every "driveway moment.”

Carly Esslinger

Carly was born and raised in Cleveland, OH and graduated with a Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin-Madison. After heading south to Atlanta for a few years, she settled in Asheville in 2005.

She is raising two teenage boys, a hound dog and two cats with her life partner. She is a real estate agent with Town and Mountain Realty.

In her downtime, Carly enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, gardening, cooking, reading, singing with her local choir, and taking long walks in the woods.

Meg Guyton
Meg Guyton is a native of Alabama and has a love/hate relationship with the state. Prior to moving to Waynesville in 2020, she lived in Tallahassee, Florida for 36 years.

Meg's professional life was spent working for community service agencies. She served as director for a chapter of The National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Montgomery, Alabama, director of a United Way agency in Tallahassee, and as a United Way staff member, also in Tallahassee. In every position, she recruited, trained, and managed volunteers. In addition, she has always been a community volunteer, with public schools being her primary focus.

For 10+ years, she was a volunteer news reader for the vision impaired, a service of WFSU public radio. She hopes her experiences as a volunteer and leading volunteers, and learning how to operate within a tight budget, will be helpful in service to Blue Ridge Public Radio's CAB.

Steve Hart
Steve returned home to Western Carolina 12 years ago to care for his aging father and, as it turned out, rediscover himself, the land and find the love of his life.

He spent his career in Florida newspapers: Destin, Panama City Beach, Fairhope AL, and Naples; and in politics as staff in the Florida Legislature and the US House of Representatives. He launched his own weekly newspaper, the Everglades Floridian, and served as VP of public policy for the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.

His return home has been marked by a renewed love for the region, Shaconage as seen through the eyes of its native folk, Aniyvwiya. He calls the region home because his Hart family first came to Lake Junaluska in 1934, followed in the late 1940s by the Cobbs of Pinellas County, Florida.

Stan Ingber
Stan Ingber is a retired law professor, having taught and written in the fields of constitutional law, criminal law, and legal philosophy for more than 43 years at ten schools in the United States, Canada and Europe. He was the first occupant of the congressionally endowed James Madison Chair in Constitutional Law.

Stan earned his BA summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Since relocating to Asheville with his wife Laura Robbins, Stan has been a member the CAB since 2023, taught at Osher Life Long Learning Institute, served as a Guardian ad Litem advocating for neglected and abused children, as president of the Asheville Debate Society, and as a member of the Board of the Montford Park Players.

Dr Anne Iverson
Dr. Anne Iverson is currently the Associate Director of Grants at United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County. She loves all things radio and BPR/NPR. Prior to March of 2025, Dr. Iverson was an Education professor who taught pre-service teachers and psychologists at the college level.

She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut. Before that, Dr. Iverson was an English teacher and gifted education specialist at a school system in Virginia.

She loves to listen to the radio and podcasts and has been an avid follower of NPR for a long time. She hopes to apply her passion for the radio as a new member on the Community Advisory Board (CAB).

Ben Kickert
Ben Kickert brings a practical, thoughtful perspective to public radio shaped by work in media, nonprofit leadership, and data analysis. He holds a degree in Mass Communication and began his career with hands-on experience in broadcasting and media production before moving into nonprofit and international development work. He now works in data analytics for philanthropic consultancy. Along the way, he spent years helping lead an international NGO, managing teams, budgets, and programs while working across cultures and political viewpoints.

Ben approaches the world with a data-informed mindset, but one grounded in lived experience and context. He is especially interested in how technology, institutions, and communities intersect, and in asking questions that help listeners make sense of complexity without oversimplifying it. Comfortable with nuance and disagreement, he values clarity, curiosity, and storytelling that respects the intelligence and time of the audience.

Erica Leib
Erica holds a BA in Communications and spent 10 years living in NYC, working in the corporate space as a global leader of customer service teams.

She moved to Asheville in 2020 and at that time, transitioned into her own business, as a holistic life coach. Her practice has expanded so that she can also incorporate her love of dance, theater, and design.

Erica believes in building a better world and feels honored to be part of the CAB with BPR.

Marci Lockwood

After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Marci volunteered at and later managed a public radio station in Berkeley, California. As general manager, she analyzed audience data to guide programming decisions, led a team of 15 staff members and 200 volunteers, and oversaw the station’s move to a new building funded through a capital campaign.

Marci later served as executive director of the Institute for Global Communications, an early internet service provider and content creator. There, volunteers worked with nonprofits to develop online resources for networks including Peacenet, Womensnet, Labornet, and Econet.

She then moved into program management for online learning, developing programs for clients in the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and technology sectors. Later, at Google, Marci managed teams of content creators, developers, video producers, and artists who produced internal learning programs for employees. She and her wife retired to Asheville five years ago with their two dogs.

Doug Lowe
Doug holds a BA in Music Education, an MM in Music Theory (with an Outstanding Graduate Award), and an MM in Marriage and Family Therapy. His career in music education spans elementary, junior high, and senior high school teaching, as well as university instruction. At Colorado State University, he taught piano and music theory classes and worked as an accompanist for both faculty and students.

Doug was the founder and Artistic Director of the Front Range Chamber Players, leading the ensemble for 21 years (1984–2001) as both director and performer. In addition to his institutional work, he maintained a private studio for over 40 years, teaching piano and music theory to students of many ages and levels.

Earlier in his career, Doug spent two years as a classical music DJ for NPR radio in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Although he currently lives with pulmonary fibrosis and has limited physical energy, Doug remains mentally active and engaged. He hopes to contribute through programming ideas and thoughtful input.

Kate McCarthy
Kate McCarthy is a community development professional with over 25 years’ experience across the US and over a dozen countries. She has worked on both small and multi-million-dollar programs in public health, agriculture, blended finance, communications and civil society.

With deep experience in coalition building and local system strengthening for governments, non-profits and the private sector, Kate is most at home working with a broad set of stakeholders to devise sustainable solutions that build resilience for both people and the planet.

Kate has an MPH in Population and Family Health from Columbia University; an MA in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech; a BS in Environmental Science; and served as a Water/Sanitation engineer in the Peace Corps in Nepal (1996-98)

Kate moved to Asheville with her husband and daughter in 2021—she now works for the City of Asheville’s Community and Economic Development (CED) Department.

Frank McGowan
Frank is a native Texan who has lived in North Carolina for 25 years, including 23 years in Asheville and Buncombe County. He has been a public radio listener since age 17, when a co-worker at the bookstore where he worked introduced him to Car Talk and Weekend Edition. Over the years, he has listened to and supported public radio in Houston, Charlotte, and Asheville.

Frank has worked in local government for 17 years and previously worked with nonprofit organizations. He holds an MBA and a BA in Journalism.

In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading, cooking, traveling, attending live music events, and listening to BPR—often with his cat in his lap. His child jokingly reminds him that he is getting older.

Bri Newsom
Bri believes deeply in the role that access to news, storytelling, and information plays in the lives of a thriving community. That belief informed her work as a journalist, researcher and healthcare professional. She began her career working in print and television news and carried that commitment to clear, accessible communication into her work in public health and healthcare.

Over the years, Bri has worked closely with people from many backgrounds—providing care, sharing health information, and in different capacities, as a community volunteer with local and national non-profits. Bri brings a bi-cultural, people-centered perspective to community advisory work, shaped by hands-on experience, curiosity, and a belief that journalism should serve, inform, and connect the public.

She is excited to join BPR’s Community Advisory Board in its ongoing work to reflect all the voices of our Western Carolina community in its programming with care and integrity.

Walter Plotkin
Walter Plotkin has called Asheville home for the past ten years following a lengthy career as an international school educator. Before settling in western North Carolina in 2016 he and his family spent 30 years living and working across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, with stops in Vienna, Pago Pago, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka, Hong Kong, Dhaka and Copenhagen. Though they traveled the world, they developed a deep affection for this region two decades ago when they purchased their home in Weaverville.

Walter’s return to the U.S. in 2016 highlighted a growing need for genuine civic dialogue and a better understanding of perspectives outside our immediate circles. He believes that public radio—and BPR in particular—plays a vital role in bridging these gaps. As a member of the Community Advisory Board, Walter is dedicated to enhancing authentic dialogue and mutual comprehension across our diverse community.

Eric Ralston
Eric discovered public radio while growing up in Tennessee. Since then, he has been a daily listener for the wide range of voices offered in the uncluttered public radio environment: the cultural, scientific, creative, political, and business leaders who help shape our world.

Eric became a WCQS / BPR listener in 2002 after relocating from Tennessee to begin a career in mental healthcare. His professional and personal lives here have involved engagement with many people from a wide variety of backgrounds across our region. He has developed a profound appreciation for Western North Carolina’s rich cultural landscape.

As a member of the Community Advisory Board, Eric gets to combine his enthusiasm for public broadcasting with his love for the people and places of this region. He energetically supports BPR’s mission to engage, inform, and entertain by exploring innovative ideas offered by our community to expand its reach and impact.

Lynn H Roberts
Lynn brings to CAB an extensive career in journalism, publishing, and translation, with experience across global print, broadcast, and digital media. She grew up in Bolivia and Peru and moved to the United States after graduating from high school in Lima to join the Inter-American Press Association.

Throughout her career, Lynn has worked primarily in Latin America, the Caribbean and western Europe focusing on international relations, trade, and investment issues. In 1991 she simultaneously founded and built a virtual 43-language breaking business news translation firm, which she sold in 2019 just after relocating permanently to Asheville.

During a hiatus from journalism, Lynn, served as GM of the Film Society of Miami, which produced the Miami Film Festival.

A longstanding advocate for public media, Lynn has served on the CAB for two years and is honored to now chair the Board.

Angie Robinson
Angie Robinson is president and partner of Darby Communications, a PR and digital marketing agency based in Asheville, NC. She has been a CAB member since 2024 and is excited to be on the 2026 CAB Steering Committee. Originally from Boone, NC, Angie moved to Asheville in the mid-90s and now resides in Weaverville, NC with her husband, two mutts, and one finicky cat.

Through her work at Darby Comm, Angie has helped brands and nonprofits implement successful PR campaigns to fuel their growth. She’s knowledgeable in best practices and current trends to reach and engage with broader audiences.

As a community volunteer, Angie is a mentor in the Venture Asheville Elevate program and gives her time to local politics and the Donation Station at her local farmer's market. With a passion for the outdoors, Angie can often be found riding her bike or hiking in the woods in WNC.

John Rukavina
John Rukavina served as Asheville’s Fire Chief from 1986 to 2000. During that time, he was a financial supporter of WCQS (in the pre-Blue Ridge Public Radio days, when NPR’s Morning Edition didn’t come on air until 6 AM!) and a dedicated listener (who misses “Afropop Worldwide”!). He was also involved in community service through the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County and served on the Steering Committee of Building Bridges focused on Overcoming Racism.

John is originally from Minnesota. He became a volunteer firefighter while attending the University of Minnesota School of Law. He practiced law for a short time but was drawn to the fire service as a full-time career. He spent five years with the St. Paul Fire Departments and then became Fire Chief in St. Joseph MO until 1986. In 2000, he left Asheville to join Wake County (Raleigh) as its Director of Public Safety. He stepped down in 2008, returned to Asheville, re-tuned his radios to 88.1 and established a fire service management teaching/consulting practice.

Carolyn “Shelia” Sneed
Shelia, a native Houstonian, enjoyed a distinguished 40+ year career in the Property and Casualty Insurance industry as a Licensed Insurance Agent. She earned an Associate Degree from Houston Community College and held a General Agent license and the ACSR (Accredited Customer Service Representative) designation. Her career included roles in sales, customer service, executive account management, and department management.

Shelia also served as an Adjunct Professor with the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas. She has been active in community and church leadership, serving as Treasurer and Vice President of her neighborhood homeowners’ association and as Vice President of the Usher Board at a large megachurch.

Since retiring in 2013, Shelia has traveled throughout the United States and internationally, including Europe, Asia, and South Africa. She and her husband, Thomas, moved to Asheville in 2018 and enjoy the mountain lifestyle. She enjoys traveling, gardening, music, cooking, and dancing. Shelia is currently serving her third year on BPR’s Community Advisory Board.

Lauren Sowers
Lauren is the Strategic Communications Manager at Invest Appalachia, where she leads communications for place-based investment work across Central Appalachia and supports the Rural News Fund, an initiative of Press Forward. Before joining Invest Appalachia, she spent over a decade in investigative and mediation roles as an open-source intelligence analyst and a Superior Court–certified mediator.

Lauren holds an M.S. in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding from The Carter School at George Mason University, with a concentration in Media, Narrative, and Public Discourse, and a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from The College of Charleston.

A passionate education advocate, Lauren serves as a board communications advisor for The Clemente Course in the Humanities. She lives in Asheville with her family and enjoys biking, reading, making music, and tending to an ever-growing collection of plants and pets.

Sherry Spurlin
An Asheville native, Sherry moved away with her family at a young age. In the years that followed, she took a long, interesting, and circuitous path before eventually settling back in her hometown. For more than 30 years, she worked as a guide and program manager at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in western North Carolina. During much of that time, she also served as Team Leader for the U.S. National Whitewater Team at several World Cup events in Europe. Sherry later led adventure travel trips in England and Nepal and served on the organizing committee for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

After leaving NOC, she worked at Olympic Games in Sydney, Salt Lake City, and Vancouver. Sherry also worked at FIFA World Cup events in Korea and Dubai, and at a Formula One event in Abu Dhabi. For the past 17 years, she has also served as a reservist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, most recently assisting with disaster response during Hurricane Helene.

A longtime listener of NPR, she recently returned to Asheville and joined BPR’s Community Advisory Board.

Nancy Sultan
Both of Nancy's maternal and paternal grandparents arrived in Asheville in the early 1920s, raised their families there, and ran businesses downtown, beginning a long family connection to the community. For generations, her family has been active in civic life, including civil rights work, politics, and the region’s arts and cultural scene.

Nancy attended the alternative high school The Newfound School, then located in the YWCA building on Grove Street, where she developed a love of ancient history and classical languages. She played dulcimer in the award-winning Mountain Women’s Cooperative Folk Band led by Appalachian Studies scholar Joan Moser.

She later left Asheville for college, graduate school, and a career in higher education, spending thirty years as Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Illinois Wesleyan University. After retiring, Nancy returned home to Asheville with her husband, Roland Green. A longtime supporter of public radio since discovering NPR in college. She has been on the CAB since 2023 and now serves on the Steering Committee.

Andrea Genevieve Townson
Andrea is a marketing expert with over 20 years of experience working with nonprofits, startups, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies. She specializes in digital marketing, content creation, social media strategy, fundraising campaigns, and analytics. Andrea currently works with The Pisgah Conservancy and the Ecusta Trail.

A mother of three, Andrea and her family relocated to Western North Carolina from Austin, Texas, where she spent 13 years as an adjunct professor. There she also spent 6 years on the KLRU-PBS CAB. She is deeply passionate about education and local politics and enjoys hiking, ballet, and baking in her free time.

Andrea serves on the board of Babies Need Bottoms (Asheville Diaper Bank) and volunteers her time advocating for education reform in rural Western North Carolina communities. An avid traveler, she spends many miles exploring the United States and National Parks with her family. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Andrea holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, as well as a Master of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communication.

Sarah Van Wart
Sarah is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at UNC Asheville. As an educator, she is interested in how people encounter and make sense of technology and media in everyday life. She has worked with youth radio initiatives, supporting young people in developing media literacy and sharing their own stories. She values public radio as a trusted, accessible public good and brings a perspective grounded in education, community engagement, and emerging technology. She is especially interested in how public media can engage younger audiences, demystify technical topics, and amplify diverse local voices.

T. Mila White
Mila fell in love with public radio when she was a raft guide in West Virginia. It was there, while living in a tent, that she started listening to Public Radio daily. Public radio allowed her to stay in touch with local and world news. She was lucky to come from a state with strong ties to public radio. Her goal in working with Blue Ridge Public Radio is to promote the same love for public radio in Western North Carolina.

She graduated from Marshall University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Minor in Journalism. For the past twenty years she has been employed by Buncombe County and currently works as a Planner III. She is an active volunteer with Bounty and Soul as well as the Haywood Street Congregation.

Goetz Wolff
Goetz relocated to the Asheville area after retiring from his faculty position teaching graduate labor and economic development courses in UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.

For six years, he was research director of the 800,000 member L. A. County Federation of Labor. He was elected president of the UCLA teacher labor union, UC-AFT, Local 1990.

He returned to the Blue Ridge Mountains where he was a professor of political science at UNCA decades before.

Wolff serves on the WNC Central Labor Council (AFL-CIO), as well as president of the Buncombe County Democratic Party Labor Caucus. He has been a member of BPR’s CAB since 2024.

Born in Tahiti, he is reintroducing his father’s Tahitian artwork from the 1930 - 40s with the international Wolfgang Wolff Foundation. He enjoys exploring our region with his marathon-runner wife, Paula Sirola.

Wolff is Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, Occidental College and holds advanced degrees from Yale University.

Tad Fogel
Tad Fogel is a retired broadcaster and former advertising business owner with decades of radio experience. He was inducted into the South Carolina Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010 and served as President of the South Carolina Broadcasters Association from 1973–1974. Tad owned and operated six South Carolina radio stations and began his career as a news anchor in Miami.

Still active from his home studio, Tad produces voiceovers and narrations and is pleased to support BPR through programming assistance and public radio sponsorship development, drawing on his extensive commercial sales background.

Active in Transylvania County, Tad serves in leadership roles with several community organizations. He is a Georgetown, SC native and a proud husband, father, and grandfather.

Judith Wrzesinski

Jude is a retired Certified Nurse-Midwife who, over a 38-year career in Illinois and North Carolina, “caught” or supervised the delivery of more than 1,000 babies. She is an avid gardener who grows organic vegetables and fruits and plants flowers and native species. Deeply concerned about climate change, she practices water reclamation at home and seeks other ways to live sustainably.

She enjoys traveling and spent a week in Cuba in January 2026 with members of her church. In 2024, she visited 11 countries and 22 cities across Europe. She takes weekly Spanish lessons and stays active in her community as a member of the Leicester Democrats, participating in local activities, greeting voters at the polls during elections, and canvassing door-to-door.

Jude keeps bees and collaborates with local beekeepers. She mentors two neighborhood children and helps care for her two grandchildren while her daughter, an author, is on a book tour. She enjoys cooking with fresh, organic foods and herbs and exercises regularly.

Audrey Yatras
Audrey earned a B.S. in Psychology from Morgan State University in 1976. She later pursued graduate business management courses at Marymount University and completed executive leadership programs at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

From 1989 to 2002, Audrey was president and owner of AMA Systems Inc., a federal government contracting firm that provided IT services to the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Prior to founding AMA Systems, she worked as a computer systems analyst at several companies in Alexandria, Virginia. After many years working in the Washington, D.C., government contracting environment, she relocated to Asheville, following in her parents’ footsteps.

Audrey volunteers as a racial justice facilitator with Building Bridges of Asheville, where she has also served on the board. She is involved with the Asheville 12-Step Clubhouse and the YWCA’s Racial Justice Coalition initiative.

In her free time, she enjoys Asheville’s culinary scene, travel, walking, and listening to public radio.