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People

Meet all the people who make WAMC happen!

Executive Staff

Sarah Gilbert
President and CEO, sgilbert@wamc.org
Ian Pickus
News Director, ipick@wamc.org
Stacey Rosenberry
Chief Operating Officer, srosenberry@wamc.org

WAMC Staff

Ray Arsenault
Regional Account Executive
Rick Aylor
Buildings and Grounds Manager
Alexander Babbie
Alexander began his journalism career as a sports writer for Siena College's student paper The Promethean, and as a host for Siena's school radio station, WVCR-FM "The Saint." A Cubs fan, Alexander hosts the morning Sports Report in addition to producing Morning Edition. You can hear the sports reports over-the-air at 6:19 and 7:19 AM, and online on WAMC.org. He also speaks Spanish as a second language. To reach him, email ababbie@wamc.org, or call (518)-465-5233 x 190. You can also find him on Twitter/X: @ABabbieWAMC.
Deborah Barrow
Account Executive
Mike Bohen
Board Operator
Pat Bradley
North Country Bureau Chief
Rob Chacon
Studio Technician
Jessica Denue
Director of Grants and Human Resources
Joe Donahue
Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.
Ron Ellis
Director of Building & Grounds
Wanda Fischer
Wanda brings listeners a program of the very best folk music, bluegrass and blues. If you have a question or suggestion for the show, why not drop Wanda an e-mail!
Ray Graf
In a radio career that has spanned nearly 35 years, Ray Graf has done it all. At one time or another he worked as an overnight board operator, a commercial copywriter, a reporter and a voiceover announcer. For several years - a lifetime ago - he was a morning drive disc jockey. Graf has been a member of the WAMC News team for 16 years. These days, he finds himself as The Roundtable's news anchor, panelist- and occasional guest host for Joe Donahue. "Radio news is not always easy," said Graf of his most recent radio vocation, "but it's not nearly as difficult as spinning a Michael Bolton record at 5:45 in the morning and pretending you're happy about it."
David Guistina
David Guistina is the host of Capital Connection, Legislative Gazette, and Morning Edition and the producer of the Media Project on WAMC.
David Hopper
Producer, The Academic Minute
Peter Hughes
Peter Hughes is the General Manager and Programmer/Presenter for The Linda: WAMC Northeast Public Radio’s Live Performing Arts Studio. He is also the on-air host of "Live at the Linda" a twice-weekly variety music program on WAMC on-air and online that broadcasts concerts and content both recorded and live from The Linda studio in Albany NY, but also interviews and conversations with artists of all stripes.
Kordelia Hutans
Regional Account Executive
Jesse King
Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%," and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."
Sarah LaDuke
Sarah has worked in public radio since 2006. She grew up in Saranac Lake, New York where she worked part-time at Pendragon Theatre all through high school and college. She graduated from UAlbany in 2006 with a BA in English and started at WAMC a few weeks later as a part-time board-op in the control room. Through a series of offered and seized opportunities she is now the Senior Contributing Producer of The Roundtable and Producer of The Book Show. During the main thrust of the Covid-19 pandemic shut-down, Sarah hosted a live Instagram interview program "A Face for Radio Video Series." On it, Sarah spoke with actors, musicians, comedians, and artists about the creative activities they were accomplishing and/or missing. She is on the board of WAM Theatre and lives in Albany, New York with her husband, Paul, and their dog, Doritos.
Josh Landes
Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
David Lavera
Underwriting Administrative Assistant
Brian Levis
Account Executive
Duncan Lindsay
Membership Administrator
Dave Lucas
Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
Zachary Malloy
Board Operator
Bill McCann
Host of WAMC Jazz Show
Caelen McPherson
Board Operator
Colleen McWatters
Bookkeeper
Alexandria Muhammad
Digital Media Administrator
Alice Naylor
Account Executive
Tristan O’Neill
Producer, Earthwise
Jessica O'Rourke
Chief Engineer
James Paleologopoulos
Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief
Maura Perry
Chief Financial Officer
Ally Peterson
Underwriting Office Manager and Traffic Director
Anne Marie Piccolo
Senior Account Executive
Tina Renick
Programming Director
Madeleine Reynolds
Associate Producer of The Roundtable, Associate Producer of The Best of Our Knowledge, and the Associate Producer of 51%
Kayla Sacco
Outreach and Social Media Coordinator
Deena Salzman
Assistant to the President
Nathan Schied
Technical Director, The Linda
Christian Shear
Board Operator
Aaron Shellow-Lavine
Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief
Amber Sickles
Membership Director
Samantha Simmons
Samantha joined the WAMC staff in 2023 after graduating from the University at Albany. She covers the City of Troy and Rensselaer County at large. Outside of reporting, she host's WAMC's Weekend Edition and Midday Magazine.

She can be reached by phone at (518)-465-5233 Ext. 211 or by email at ssimmons@wamc.org.
Josie Slavinski
Senior Account Executive
Payton Walker
Underwriting Billing Administrator
Lucas Willard
Lucas Willard is a news reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011. He produces and hosts The Best of Our Knowledge and WAMC Listening Party.