2022 AIR Board of Directors Election Results
January 25, 2022 -- The election results are official. Congratulations to returning Board members, Emily Kwong and Keisha "TK" Dutes! We are also pleased to welcome Chioke I'Anson and Ernesto Aguilar to AIR’s Board of Directors!
Learn more about AIR's Board of Directors.
Ernesto Aguilar
Ernesto Aguilar (he/him) is director of radio programming at KQED (NPR/PBS for the San Francisco Bay Area) and formerly worked for the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. He is a Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Fellow (Advanced Leadership) and Sulzberger Executive Leadership Fellow. Aguilar holds a degree in journalism, with minors in sociology and Women’s Studies from the University of Houston and a Nonprofit Fund Development Certification from Rice University.
Chioke I'Anson
Chioke I'Anson (he/him) is one of the voices of NPR's sponsorship messages. He is also a professor of African American Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and is the founder and director of the VPM + ICA Community Media Center. The center provides free workshops and training to anyone who wants to learn podcast production.
Chioke's podcast credits include Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Everything is Alive, Love + Radio, and The 11th.
Emily Kwong
Emily Kwong (she/her) is the co-host/reporter for NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave — a show that believes science is for everyone. She is interested in stories that unfold at the community level, with a focus on the environment and social justice. At NPR, she also co-leads NPR AZNs, an employee resource group for Pan-Asian and Pacific Islander staff.
Prior to joining NPR, Emily was a reporter and host at KCAW-Sitka, a community radio station in Sitka, Alaska. She covered local government and politics, chasing stories onto fishing boats and up volcanoes. Her work earned multiple awards from the Alaska Press Club and the Alaska Broadcasters Association. Additionally, Emily reported a series on climate migration in Mongolia for NPR's Above the Fray fellowship (through the John Alexander Project), produced youth media stories with WNYC's Radio Rookies, and taught youth media with The Modern Story in Hyderabad, India.
Keisha "TK" Dutes
Keisha "TK" Dutes (she/her) is an Executive Producer at Spoke Media and independent audio producer. With experience spanning terrestrial radio (WBAI-NY), online, podcast (Buzzfeed's "Thirst Aid Kit", Function with Anil Dash, Hear to Slay) and audio drama, her life in audio is all encompassing. TK's has a passion for Black audio drama, having produced W.E.B DuBois' The Comet, and The Weeksvile Project, a story about a free Black community Brooklyn, N.Y. She also spreads the gospel of radio and podcasting through workshops and mentorship, and was listed on Current.org's "Black Talents in Public Media You Should Know." Currently, she is on the Board of the Association of Independents in Radio.