NFCB Leadership
Our Board of Directors and Staff
Kerry Semrad
Board President
Kerry Semrad joined the staff at KZUM in Lincoln NE as General Manager in 2016 after working in the financial sector for 11 years. She hosts a weekly jazz program on KZUM and is an accomplished musician. Kerry is passionate about engaging with her community through the radio station, developing programming and working with KZUM’s numerous volunteers.
Carl A’see
Board Vice President
Carl A’see is the General Manager of Statement Media (WSSB, WOBS, and WPJK) at South Carolina State University. He also heads the training program at WSSB for students interested in radio broadcasting. Carl has broadcast experience in public and commercial radio, higher education and the non-profit sector.
Nathan Moore
Board Treasurer
Nathan Moore is the General Manager at WTJU 91.1 FM at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Nathan has worked in college and community radio for more than two decades. He launched and serves as staff advisor for UVA’s student-run station WXTJ 100.1 FM. He has also launched the community podcast network Virginia Audio Collective and the Virginia College Radio Alliance.
Colin Andrews
Board Secretary
Colin Andrews joined the NFCB board in May of 2016 and is also an attorney who has represented non-commercial radio and television before the FCC. He has experience on advising broadcasters on compliance with regulatory requirements, including working on pleadings for administrative proceedings, responding to Letters of Inquiry, responding to EEO audits, and drafting comments on proposed rulemakings.
Darrah Blackwater
Board Member
Darrah Blackwater is from Farmington, New Mexico and is a citizen of the Navajo Nation. She has completed internships in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs in Washington D.C., and under the Inspector General of the Department of Interior. She is today focusing her energy on the fight for spectrum sovereignty. Blackwater graduated with her J.D. from the University of Arizona in May of 2020. She is a recipient of the Radical Imagination grant from NDN Collective.
Sharon Maeda
Board Member
Sharon Maeda has been involved in community radio and media advocacy for 40 years. She was station manager of KRAB-FM in Seattle, a former executive director of Pacifica Radio, a member of the early NFCB Steering Committee and the Public Radio Satellite Interconnection System Charitable Trust, where she continues to serve today. In 2017, Sharon came out of retirement to help get the LPFM in her neighborhood on the air.
Ngoc-Tran Vu
Board Member
Ngoc-Tran Vu (she/her) is a Vietnamese-American interdisciplinary artist and organizer whose socially engaged work draws from her experience as a cultural connector, trainer, and lightworker. She is the Strategic Initiatives Director at Silkroad and was previously the Director of Programs at AIR (Association of Independents in Radio). She received her MA in Arts and Politics at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and her BA in Ethnic Studies and Visual Arts at Brown University. Tran works across borders and is based in Boston’s Dorchester community.
Victor Palomino
Board Member
Victor Palomino is a radio producer and visual artist born in Bogotá, Colombia where he attended film school. Palomino moved to the United States in 1999 and established residency in North Carolina in 2001. Palomino has been involved in community radio since 2003 helping radio stations to introduce Spanish language programming and multiculturalism. He has worked in radio stations in North Carolina, Kentucky and California serving various roles including News Director, Station Manager, Program Director, Staff Reporter, and Volunteer Coordinator. He currently lives in Bonville, CA where he works as the Public Affairs Director and Bilingual Reporter for KZYX and Z, Mendocino County Public Broadcasting. Palomino hosts a weekly Spanish language news show and produces the arts and culture show Art Waves. Over the years, Palomino has worked with different mediums including video, photography, music and his artwork can be seen in galleries in NC, KY and CA.
JC Polk, II
Board Member
JC (he/him) is a native of Durham, North Carolina. He is a Public Media Diversity Fellow from the Riley Institute at Furman University. Along with being a founding coalition member of Public Media for All, he serves as a fundraising production consultant with Trac Media where he works with PBS and NPR stations in non-traditional development strategies. In 2021, he took his more than 15 years of public and commercial media experience to co-found OLAS Media in San Diego, CA – a binational, podcast marketing agency focused on helping content creators “Amplify their Brand”. He’s most passionate about assisting media leaders, the true stewards of information, in reaching audiences often overlooked. JC is a proud alum of Elizabeth City State University, an HBCU in the University of North Carolina System.
NFCB Staff
Sally Kane
Chief Executive Officer
Sally Kane is a successful nonprofit executive with twenty years of experience in the field of community radio. She is a trained facilitator, accomplished fundraiser, and impassioned public speaker. As NFCB’s CEO Ms. Kane led the organization through a comprehensive restructure and built a team that moved the organization into a new chapter that includes impactful national advocacy, industry thought leadership, customized station services, and innovative initiatives that transform community media organizations.
Gretchen Aston-Puckett
Chief Operating Officer
Gretchen Aston-Puckett joined NFCB’s staff in 2016, after serving as Development and Membership Director at community radio station KVNF in Paonia, Colorado. Previously, she served for nearly a decade as Development Director at High Country News, a non-profit media organization that reports on the American West’s natural and human communities. In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations and collaborating with her colleagues at NFCB, she enjoys spending time outside with a camera in hand and going on adventures with her family and friends.
Serah Mead
Director of Member Engagement
Serah Mead brings more than 20 years of non-profit experience to the hard working team at NFCB. Serah earned her BFA in Graphic Design from California College of the Art where she honed her passion for design thinking, creative expression, radical inclusivity, and the power of mass communication. She’s a Certified Change Leader through the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, a graduate of the Emerging Leaders Institute through the Foundation of the Alliance for Community Media, and has served on several boards for arts and media organizations. Most recently, Serah led as Executive Director and General Manager for KZMU Moab Community Radio. Serah lives in Moab, Utah with her kid Verdell and Cutes the hamster.
