Oliver-Ash Kleine (they/them)

I’m executive producer of Reshma Saujani’s award-winning Brave, Not Perfect podcast. Under my direction, the show has gone from being entirely interview-format to a more dynamic podcast with narrative arc running through both seasons and individual episodes. We've also been nominated for a Webby Award! Before that, I worked at Mother Jones—where I built the magazine's flagship podcast, a weekly half hour show featuring interviews with newsmakers and investigative reporters, based on a topic of national urgency. I designed the show to be more sound-rich and narrative-driven than most other political podcasts. In addition to being a talented audio producer, I'm committed to covering various communities with sensitivity and care and elevating underrepresented voices. I'm one of the founding members of the Trans Journalists Association and led the effort to develop a comprehensive guide to help journalists tell trans stories with more sensitivity and accuracy. I’m also honored to have my work cited in The Radical Copyeditor's Style Guide to Writing about Transgender People. In addition to helping change the conversation about how trans stories are covered, I’m committed to lifting up a variety of diverse voices through my work. Brave, Not Perfect with Reshma Saujani centers women of underrepresented identities. I also produced episodes featuring voices of people directly affected by the travel ban and trans people telling stories of life under the Trump administration on The Mother Jones Podcast. Before Mother Jones, I worked as senior news editor at WAMU, D.C.'s public radio station. In addition to coordinating daily newsroom coverage, I led an innovative storytelling project called “What’s with Washington?” This segment from the project won an award for newsroom innovation from the Chesapeake AP Broadcasters Association, and this segment was the highest performing local segment nationally on NPR One, the phone app for listening to public radio.