Ellensburg Community Radio has been streaming online since late October 2014. We operate 24/7 with an eclectic mix of diverse music. Community members have stepped up and we now have locally produced programs breaking into our stream throughout the week. The programming is as quirky, sophisticated and unique as our community. Ellensburg Community Radio has its studio in the heart of downtown Ellensburg in the historic 420 Building. Because of the volunteer nature of our organization, our hours are sporadic, but you can hear us on the street in front of the building or in the comfort of your home or wherever you travel in the world, thanks to the miracle of the internet. Maybe you already have.
If you’d like to help us achieve our goals, then we invite you to get involved.
ECR board members and volunteers.Meet the ECR Board and Volunteers
Mollie Edson, President
Mollie came to Ellensburg in 1974 as CWU student and never left. She stayed and raised five children and has worked in every sector of Ellensburg’s economy—city councilwoman, director of CWU’s Cornerstone Program, grant writer for a local nonprofit, graduate student, entrepreneur, historic building renovator, and art gallery owner. Most recently and happily, she is a streaming community radio supporter.
Sam Albright, Member
Sam has been involved with the arts and music in Ellensburg since attending CWU in the mid 1970s. He owns and operates a small manufacturing company that makes cutting tools for quilters and picture framers. A life long interest in music and production led him to build a recording studio and an independent record label called Velvetone Records.
Kath Fraser, Secretary
An RN, Mom of two, Grandma of two, and now a radio show host. Kath came to Kittitas County after hearing about this amazing place while living in Australia. She worked as an RN at the Health Department, Home Health Hospice and at Harborview Medical Center. At 54, she fulfilled a lifelong dream to get a degree in music and attended CWU.
Nathan Griffith, Music Librarian
Nathan has been a painter, photographer, academic, musician and . . . He has lived in Ellensburg since 2015. With a PhD in art history, he taught for a few years leaving the field for the photography business. Having lived in numerous places including Philadelphia, Ann Arbor, and Phoenix, he has been active in community radio since the 70s with his first show on KAXR in Flagstaff.
Kathy Hopkins, Membership, Newsletter
Kathy Hopkins moved to Ellensburg with her horses and husband, leaving Shaw Island where they raised 2 sons, who are still our world! It has been suggested I bear the title “official listener” of ECR
Don Shriner, Member
Husband, father, grandfather, multi instrumentalist lover of the arts and deep admiration and respect for those that work to fulfill their creative hearts. 40 years in the county.
Martin Kennedy, Member
Martin Kennedy joined the music faculty at Central Washington University in 2013. He was formerly on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis and holds degrees from Indiana University and the Juilliard School. When not teaching or performing, he spends time exploring and enjoying all that our community and region has to offer.
Judy Sanders, Member
Judy came to live in Ellensburg over two years ago and was soon struck by the warm sense of community and the variety of fascinating people who live here. Hosting Meet Your Neighbors satisfies her nosy urge. She raised five children, worked as an editor, did some acting and writing, tried to learn Italian, enjoys being a grandmother and great-grandmother, and serves on the Ellensburg Film Festival board.
Kirstin James-Dunn, Member
Dr. Kirstin James-Dunn is the fifth generation of her family to reside in Ellensburg. She comes to Ellensburg after having spent six years in England, researching curatorial praxis with the British Museum in London and the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford. In addition to being an ECR board member, Kirstin makes guest appearances on her husband Paul’s show, ‘TeaTime Radio’. Her occasional ‘radio intervention’ is called ‘Happy Hour’ and the musical content focuses on Kirstin’s love of big band, classic jazz , blues and swing-era music.
Jerry Alldredge, PSA’s
Jerry arrived in Ellensburg in 1994 along with his wife Carol and 3 children, to take up his new job as Teacher-Librarian at Mt. Stuart Elementary School. Along the way he spent summers teaching Children’s Literature and Media Production courses as an Adjunct Professor at CWU. After 22 years at Mt. Stuart, he resigned his library position and joined the business world by opening a video services franchise, Home Video Studio. Ten years later, with the business successful and growing, retirement beckoned. Jerry has sold his business, retired, and among his many other pursuits, is devoting more time to the support and growth of ECR. For the past 3 years he has been host to, Beans In My Ears,” a show dedicated to presenting an enjoyable hodgepodge of songs, poems, jokes and riddles geared to the young and young at heart. Someday Jerry may grow up, but don’t count on it happening any time soon.
Paul Dunn, Member
Hailing originally from England, Paul ‘Bloke’ Dunn lives and works in Ellensburg because . . . well, ‘Mrs. Dr. Dunn’ does! Paul is a board member and on-air personality at ECR. Every Saturday, he broadcasts his TeaTime Radio Show (a strong cuppa of ‘weird and wonderful’ music). Paul enjoys Ellensburg’s ‘pub-culture’ and fantastic vintage shops, where he can easily spend a day ‘digging through the stacks’ for rare vinyl.
Marty Blackson, Member
Marty Blackson has been in Ellensburg since 2012, and he soon became enamored of the local arts and culture. His background includes working in a variety of College and University libraries. He had a previous career teaching in public school at all levels. Currently he works as a Senior Lecturer in the Archives and Special Collections of Brooks Library at Central Washington University. He has previous experience working in community radio in Whitesburg, Kentucky and Sitka, Alaska.”.
Donna Beeson, Localish
Donna is a recent transplant to Ellensburg. She moved here in September 2021 from Bishop California. While on a cross country campervan trip she and her husband stumbled upon Ellensburg and were charmed by the architecture and the friendliness of the community. Donna is a retired RN with her primary skills in labor and delivery, ER trauma, and sexual assault nursing. After 34 years, Donna is happily retired. Her and her husband have 5 children and 3 grandchildren. (One lives in Orting WA on their farm, so close enough to visit!) Donna grew up in NYC and has lived in Tucson Arizona, California, and Australia. She loves the mountains and is happy to be close to the Cascades. She also loves to go to concerts, so a small town with a university and musical venues was a perfect fit. You can often find her walking downtown with her dog Oberon. If you see her, be sure to say hi! ”.
Ethan Raup, Member
Ethan Raup is Chief Executive Officer for KEXP, where he has worked since 2014. During that time, he has been involved in guiding the station’s growth, investing more in staff and active involvement in KEXP’s staff driven Racial and Gender Equity initiatives. Ethan’s connection to Ellensburg goes back to the early 2000s when he and his family lived in Ellensburg and Ethan served as Executive Director of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance. He hosts Street Lights from 7pm to 9pm Friday nights on ECR.
John Wyble, Member
John Wyble is the Principal at a creative agency specializing in video, photography, graphic design, music scoring and marketing for non-profits and campaigns throughout Washington State. He first started DJing at a high school radio station and after a long break he volunteers doing the Sunday show “The Sunday Service at Ellensburg Community Radio. He works around the state but tries to spend as much time at his place in Roslyn and serves on the Roslyn Downtown Association Board. .
Taylor Brunwald, Member
Taylor Brunwald, aka Taylor B, is your favourite local American-Canadian radio personality. He previously served as the Music Editor for OKIE Magazine in his hometown of Lawton, Oklahoma, and as a Music Critic for The Gayly in Oklahoma City. Brunwald’s locally- and nationally-distributed zine Handbasket, the namesake for his ECR program, featured essays by LGBTQ+ people across the country. In his spare time, he enjoys music, Magic: the Gathering, and travelling..
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Sande DeSalles, Member, Sponsorship
Sande DeSalles recently returned to Ellensburg after living in California and Virginia. For 25 years, she has continued full-time as an Associate with Littlefield Historical Research, specializing in water rights and environmental issues. In addition, she is a former Kittitas Valley Event Center director and founder of Spirit of The West Cowboy Gathering.
In Memory
Lee Honeycutt
Lee served as ECR’s webmaster and developer. Prior to moving to Ellensburg in 2011, he served 12 years as Associate Professor in Technical Communication at Iowa State University, and before that, he worked a variety of jobs in Georgia, Vermont, and New York, including two years as a journalist with United Press International.
Other ECR Affiliates
Vicki Nelson
Vicki and her husband moved from the Seattle area following retirement from the City of Renton in 2014, where she was a Municipal Court Clerk for 25 years. Prior to that she worked for King County District Court as well as the Renton School District as a Junior High and High School Instructional Aide. Having three grandchildren here gave her the perfect reason to relocate to beautiful Ellensburg. She has a love for children, served on the Ellensburg Discovery Lab Board, enjoys participating in the ECR Read Along With Grammy Program since 2016 and truly loves the Ellensburg Community.
Ginny Ann Blackson
Ginny moved to Ellensburg in 2014 following family members. After nearly 30 years in the nonprofit sector in eastern Kentucky, Ginny is spending her time in Ellensburg doing volunteer work and determining her next career. Her favorite thing about Ellensburg are all the wonderfully unique festivals and events—from Dachshunds on Parade to Film and Jazz Festivals. Ginny’s love of music and her new community brought her to the board of ECR.
Chris Hull
Chris came to Ellensburg in 1991 to attend CWU, where he obtained a B.A. in Music in 1996 and stayed to manage the campus radio station until 2013. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in School Psychology at CWU while remaining an active saxophonist with the Ellensburg Big Band and the Blue Café Jazz Quartet. Chris lives in Ellensburg with his wife Karen and their two children, Andrew and Melanie.
John Černｩ, Technical Advisor
John is a technology enthusiast, who enjoys photography as another of his passions.His career path included the Walt Disney Organization, the Washington State Juvenile Rehab Administration, and Central Washington University. His musical tastes vary from Ambient, New Age, Techno, House, Dance, etc. He once DJed over a three-year period a New Age / Ambient Radio Show by the name of Jonawolf’s Den.
Jampa Dorje
Jampa Dorje, aka Richard Denner, has a 40-year connection to Ellensburg, coming to Kittitas Valley in 1974 to manage an 800-acre cattle ranch. After his stint as a cowboy, he was owner and proprietor of Four Winds Bookstore and Café and active in the local art scene until 1998, when he was called to the Buddhist path and moved to Tara Mandala Retreat Center, near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. He Now, he’s back.
Jason Kirk
A recent transplant to Ellensburg, Jason has spent the last 10 years as a freelancer writing about a wide variety of topics, including sports, music, and poker. When he’s not writing or working at ECR, he enjoys photography and stand-up comedy.
Megan McConnell
A native of Ellensburg, Megan left at 17 and lived in Pullman, Detroit, and Seattle before making her way home again. She loves Ellensburg for its diversity, vibrant arts and music scene, many days of sunshine, and lack of traffic. She works at CWU as an academic counselor, has two kids in public schools, and is married to a hay salesman. She heads up ECR’s Community Outreach & Membership Development.