KAWC Development Director Alice Ferris Discusses Pledge Week, Local Impact

KAWC Development Director Alice Ferris told listeners that local donor support is central to keeping programming on the air in Yuma and La Paz County during the March 3, 2026 episode of What's Up Yuma? Radio. The conversation framed Pledge Week as a direct mechanism for sustaining the station’s locally focused reporting and community shows that serve the region.

KAWC materials list Ferris’s tenure and experience plainly: “Alice Ferris has served as KAWC's Development Director since January 2006.” The station also notes that “Ferris has more than 35 years of professional fundraising experience,” positioning her as the veteran lead on listener campaigns and membership drives that fund public broadcasting in the region.

During the episode, the program made clear what topics Ferris addressed: “Alice talked about Pledge Week for KAWC and KOFA Border Radio.” KAWC described her role in operational terms: “She helps lead the behind-the-scenes work that keeps public radio alive through listener support.” That framing links day-to-day development work to the station’s ability to maintain local voices and programming for Yuma and La Paz County audiences.

Ferris’s on-air and production presence goes beyond campaign strategy. KAWC notes, “She is also the voice of all the underwriting spots and PSAs you hear.” The station credits her as a familiar on-air presence during membership drives and underwriting announcements that interrupt and support regular programming schedules.

The episode materials also place Ferris in a broader public-broadcasting context, saying she is “frequently spotted on PBS stations throughout the country and on Arizona PBS (Phoenix) and Arizona Public Media (Tucson) during pledge drives.” KAWC’s distribution tags for the March 3 episode list Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pandora, and the station’s metadata includes “Arizona Edition” and a “KAWC App Image,” indicating listeners can access the interview across major podcast platforms and the station’s app.

KAWC summarized the interview’s purpose: “We dove into why pledge week matters, how community-funded radio is different and how local support directly keeps trusted voices and programming on the air in Yuma and La Paz County.” The March 3 conversation therefore served as both a staffing profile of a long-serving development director and a public case for community-funded journalism in the county, articulating the link between listener dollars and the station’s capacity to serve local audiences.