The University of King’s College is excited to announce the appointment of an accomplished expert advisory board to advance plans for a Centre for Excellence in Podcasting and Audio Storytelling (CEPAS).
The board includes a stellar group of experts with deep connections to the Canadian podcasting industry. The breadth and depth of their knowledge and skills will inform the work and direction of CEPAS.
Assistant Professor Pauline Dakin, the centre’s executive director, says it’s a dream team that will ensure King’s podcasting programs stay relevant and plugged into the industry and its trends.
“These are people at the top of the podcasting game, from producers and show runners, to researchers and academics, to executives who make decisions at leading podcasting enterprises in Canada. They’ll ensure that what we teach in our courses produces excellent future podcasters with desirable, hireable skills.”
CEPAS was founded with a generous donation in memory of Gretchen (Pierce) Ziegler, a King’s alum journalist remembered for her passion for storytelling. The centre will allow the university to expand its already in-demand podcast offerings to include new certificate and micro-credential initiatives. Funding will also enhance existing production facilities, including new video capabilities—an increasingly essential skill set in today’s evolving media landscape.
CEPAS Advisory Board
Raeesa Alibhai, BJ(Hons)’24, is an alum of the Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) program with a deep love of audio storytelling. She was a writer, producer and host on the award-winning King’s Advanced Audio workshop podcast If it Makes You Happy, interned with The Globe and Mail’s The Decibel and is the host and producer of the podcast One Feeling at a Time. She is currently an MSW candidate at the University of Calgary.
Golda Arthur, BJ’98, is an award-winning executive producer and audio journalist in New York City. She began her career in audio at CBC Radio in Canada, where she was a reporter and producer, and went on to produce Newshour, the flagship news program for the BBC World Service in London. She teaches audio at Columbia Journalism School. She’s currently working on the fifth season of her narrative non-fiction podcast Overlooked: A Podcast About Ovarian Cancer. Her work has also been chosen for the Tribeca Audio Festival.
Nana aba Duncan is the Carty Chair of Journalism, Diversity and Inclusion Studies at the School of Journalism and Communications at Carleton University, where she teaches podcasting. She was also the founder and executive director of Media Girlfriends podcasting company, a production company led by journalists of colour. Previously, she was a host and producer at CBC Radio.
Cesil Fernandes is Executive Producer of Production and Sound Design for CBC Podcasts, managing titles such as Someone Knows Something and Uncover. Before creating one of the studio’s first original series, Back Story, Cesil travelled Canada and the world for CBC News, covering stories from the Papal Conclave to the Sochi Winter Olympics. He’s covered elections in Canada and the U.S., and his reports from the remote island of Eleuthera shone a light on overfishing in the Bahamas.
Dr. Duncan McCue, BA’92, DCL’18, is an award-winning broadcaster, author and educator. He’s an Associate Professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, where he is Director of the Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities. An acclaimed CBC radio host and TV news correspondent, he’s the author of Decolonizing Journalism: A Guide to Reporting in Indigenous Communities and The Shoe Boy, a memoir of his time spent on a trapline with a Cree family in northern Quebec. Duncan is a proud Anishinaabe, from the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation in southern Ontario.
Tanya Springer is the Podcast Growth Lead for CBC Podcasts, where she is focused on growth and audience strategy for Canada’s leading podcast publisher. She describes her expertise as connecting editorial vision with audience strategy, using data to make informed programming decisions that help great stories reach and resonate with listeners. Previously, she was a senior producer for CBC Podcasts and CBC Radio.
Dr. Gillian Turnbull, MFA’17, is the Director of the School of Writing and Publishing, which delivers the highly successful MFA book programs in fiction and non-fiction, and is currently developing a new MFA in Scripted Storytelling. Previously, she was a faculty mentor in the program. Prior to this, she taught at Toronto Metropolitan University’s music program; was the director and co-founder of Wide Cut Weekend Roots Music Festival; and was the Editor of Canadian Folk Music for the Canadian Society for Traditional Music.
Jeff Ulster is co-publisher of The Canadian Podcast Listener: A Landscape Study, along with research company Signal Hill Insights. Launched in 2017, it’s the most comprehensive survey on podcast listening in Canada. Jeff was one of the two co-founders of The Podcast Exchange (TPX), the first podcast advertising sales company in Canada. He’s also the owner of Ulster Media, an independent podcast consulting and production company. Jeff was previously the Director of Digital Talk Content for the CBC.
Rhys Waters is a neurodiverse, Welsh-Canadian producer, director, editor, broadcaster and creative strategist. He spent a decade producing award-winning programming for the BBC and the wider UK media industry, relocating to Nova Scotia in 2018, where he co-founded Podstarter, a Halifax-based creative agency specializing in podcast strategy, production, storytelling, distribution and promotion. As Chief Creative & Partner, he’s developed podcast-led campaigns for Canadian and international clients. He founded the annual Echo Podcast Summit in Halifax, where creators, broadcasters, platforms, brands and media thinkers examine the changing podcast industry.
Banner: Unsplash photo by Austin Distel
