Hello Sonoma!

Frequent guest DJ Camilla joins us with her guest Rebecca for a short musical interlude to begin the last of the live radio programming. The songs could not be played in their entirely here in their podcast form, but KSVY listeners got to listen to DJ Camilla’s skills on the turn tables. From making photos with NYC’s first Mexican motorcycle club to capturing a community’s struggle against major u...

In this episode, we talk to Wellington Suares, an education reporter for Chalkbeat, Anna Oakes , a freelance journalist and audio producer in New York City, and Edward Lopez reporting from Stockton, California to dive into the process of learning about the space around you – and how journalists find the things they write about. 

Welcome back, Sonoma!  After a year-long hiatus, we talk to journalists from across the country and around the world about recent stories they've covered, the process behind reporting on them, and a big story where they are.  Our guests this week (in order of appearance): Gillian Goodman is a freelance journalist from New York currently in Georgia covering the election at local independent news Th...

Rebecca Hermosillo takes community seriously. As the ED of the Teen Center, she took it upon herself to make dinner every night with the teens as a way to make them feel part of something bigger. Growing up on a farm in Sonoma, she saw how her big family brought people together for tamales, and understood what it meant to have Mexican heritage. And now, as a representative for Congressman Mike Tho...

What is Washington D.C. like as a Congressman? How does a member of Congress balance living in Washington and their district? What should community members know about the type of partnerships necessary for an idea to become a law? How do members of Congress spend their free (if they have any) time? Having served our community for over 25 years, Congressman Mike Thompson is an excellent candidate t...

Rev. Dalton brings people together. Literally. He has conducted hundreds of marriages over the course of his life as a catholic priest, and even now as a reverend at St. Leo's and through his own private business. He attended seminary in Ireland, following a path he felt called to, and for 18 years, Rev. Dalton spoke from the pulpit at a Catholic Church in Mobile, Alabama. Eventually, he reali...

At first, Morgan Momsen didn't want to follow in the family footsteps. Both her mother and her grandmother are local teachers, so Morgan chose to blaze her own trail in the photography world. But when the idea of teaching came knocking again, she went for it, and has since found an incredible talent. Plus, her photography background and artistic sensibilities have made her an asset to the cult...

Over the past three years, Dan Kahn has helped serve over 150,000 free meals to the most vulnerable in our community. His work as the food program manager for Sonoma Overnight Support shaped the vision, and his role as head chef shaped the menu. But above either of these, his attitude as a friend, a father, and a Sonoman, shaped the way people feel when they receive a hot, nutritious meal from one...

Gina Cuclis' journey as an administrator was as winding as the rivers she once defended and rafted down. Though parenthood brought education to the fore of her attention, her own teachers, parents and classmates shaped the way she sees the field of education from a public administration level and her desire to leave an important impact. In this episode we talk about her experience as President...

Sonoma's 4th of July parade is one of our town's gems. Of course there are the trucks, the tractors, the floats, but then there are the thousands of locals who line the streets to clap, cheer, and sometimes get sprayed by the firefighters. This bonus episode takes a peek behind the curtain at some of the people behind making this event possible, including interviews with 14 of the parade e...

George Webber is a dedicated Sonoma Historian. He has spent the last 20 years bringing our history to life through animated portrayals of Sonoma icons like General Vallejo and Agostin Haraszthy, and the inimitable Mark Twain. Though it's George doing the talking, he completely embodies these characters, not shying away from the nuances that made them less than ideal personalities. It's tha...

Meg Beeler's journey as a teacher taught her how to learn. How to listen to her students as much as they listened to her. So when, many decades later, she met a new teacher, she was ready to listen in a new way. What followed was an unexpected journey to reconnect with nature through traditional indigenous practices in the Andes. She studied with the Q'ero people, and has since continued l...

Hello Sonoma! This is a bonus episode – a break from regular programming – and an on-the-ground reporting of Adobe Drugs' new opening in June of 2023. This 10 minute segment originally aired on the Thursday morning show at KSVY, but I thought you all might enjoy hearing it as well as a tribute to the incredible accomplishment of re-opening the shuttered pharmacy as an independent drugstore.

As a painter and a photographer, Pat Meier-Johnson sees Sonoma through a unique lens. Her artwork conveys an understanding of her surroundings beyond day-to-day observations, capturing everything from road-side barns on sunny afternoons to golden hills with grazing cows. As Sonoma's 2022 Treasure Artist, she's used her talents to involve the community in her work and to encourage us to be...

Arthur Dawson is as much detective as he is an historian, as much a naturalist as he is a storyteller. His life and work has given him a deep knowledge and appreciation for our local land, the people who currently care for it, and their ancestors have been doing so for millennia. As a historical ecologist, he uses science to better understand everything from water drainages to fire patterns. As an...

Roy Tennant has written many exciting chapters in his life book. As a renown librarian educator, a white water river raft guide, and a pioneer in the early internet age, he has been able to teach and learn both indoors and outside. He is just as familiar with the south rim of the Grand Canyon as he is with the digital library systems at UC Berkeley and the California Digital Library. In this episo...

Long before his Broadway debut, Eric Jackson was drawn to the theater. Whether it was the grandeur of the stage, or the songs of Sondheim, Eric knew that was where he was meant to be. After playing on broadway and on tours across the country, he has since moved backstage, helping weave connections between the stage and the community. In this episode, we talk about Eric's journey to find his dr...

Daniel Sonnenfeld connects people through his values. By believing in integrity, transparency, and getting things done, he brings together the deaf & hearing communities, the LGBTQ+ & straight communities, and the tech & luddite communities, with a kindness that everyone remembers and an emphasis on having fun. His journey through technology has emphasized this ability, leading enginee...

Kate Bruno is extreme. Whether it is behind the counter at her family's local restaurant, or behind the drums of her punk rock band, Kate takes her craft to the extreme, doing everything possible to ensure customers are well fed and happy, and shredding the cymbals to give her fans have something to jump around to. But even when she was catching waves teaching surfing in Mexico or skating down...

Rajae Sahouri (رجائي ساحوري) is a young entrepreneur who strives to bring the best to his audience. His podcast, The Straight Up Start Up, interviews guests from all over the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, acting as a repository of knowledge for those looking to get started in business. Though he started the program just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut us all in our homes and he bro...

Kathy Witkowicki is someone to look up to. When she founded the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, she couldn't have imagined the depth of the organization's impact. What she helped create has set the tone for what is possible in her community and beyond, not only influencing hundreds of young people in Sonoma, but acting as a model for mentoring organizations around the country. In this ep...

Mike Acker's collages create stunning and surprising new perspectives on the world around us. In a society that so often values far-off travels and worldly issues, Mike's art draws us in to our own backyards, fostering wonder for our communities and local environments. Beyond physical sculptures, murals, and paintings, Mike's media include databases and museum curations to tell the often unknown s...

Sherri Ferris connects cities, companies, nations, and people . She develops platforms for all kinds of connections that help facilitate friendships, business relationships, and ultimately peace. In her role as protocol professional, she has acted as the City of San Francisco's Deputy Chief of Protocol, welcoming members of the world's royal families, heads of diplomatic missions, and more; she wa...

Molly Spencer made a career out of creating flower arrangements; organizing nature's beauty into organic attractive compositions. Since then she's been a dance teacher, a mother, and a friend to so many – but through her role as engagement director at the Sonoma Community Center, she goes back to her florist roots, pulling pieces of Sonoma's people, history and art into bouquets for the commu...

Elliott Burdin is a connecter. Whether it be through the stories he tells with his videography, the people he's met both in town and on his travels, or his cultural connections to Paris and Sonoma, Elliott helps connect people to new ideas, friends, and opportunities. His postive early experiences coming to Sonoma as a child made him want to try living here as an adult, and though he moved at the...