Lisa Osborn

By Liz Holohan

PWA member Lisa Osborn is a fantastic resource for students and community members interested in communications and radio broadcasting. In her role as News and Public Affairs Director at KCSB, Lisa supports the student-run radio station news team and frequently provides free workshops on podcasting and reporting with the Associated Students Media Center. I spoke with Lisa about her background in radio broadcasting and how her work has evolved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How did you start at KCSB and what’s your role?

I am the News and Public Affairs Director and I’ve been in my current position for 5 years. I work alongside two student news directors. My background was in broadcasting in Los Angeles and I moved up to Santa Barbara for a job hosting a morning show. I wound up at KCSB because it was a much better fit for me. 

Did you think about going into journalism?

I got into radio broadcasting a while ago because it was a career with flexibility--if I moved out of state, I could work in any market. I’ve done all sorts of things from being an on-air DJ to a news anchor at a station in Los Angeles called KFWB. Before I moved to Santa Barbara, I was a classic rock DJ at a music network that was on 200 stations. I’m kind of stuck in the 60s and 70s in terms of music. I’ve had some journalism training but it was more that I’ve gotten into news through my work experiences, learning on the job, and being able to match what stations wanted when I first started. For example, I got hired at KFI because I had the sound they were looking for at the time.

What’s a normal day for you right now?

The day starts and ends with figuring out the news and getting it out to our audience. I work with the two student news directors to put out a COVID-19 update. We started doing the COVID-19 update in March with just going to our KCSB programmers 6 days a week. Then we heard that people were interested in it and so we expanded. Now, we have a version that goes to all undergraduates 3 times a week and a version for the broader KCSB community on Saturdays. After getting the COVID newsletter out in the morning, I’ll work with reporters through zoom. We offer stories they can pick or they can pitch a story to us. Then they’ll write the story or do an interview and record for air. Or they might do an interview. Right now, we are in the process of training some new reporters and getting them up to speed. A lot of my time is spent working with students and then meetings with staff and advisers. At the end of the day, I start writing the COVID news for the next day. 

As a staff member, I was aware of KCSB but didn’t really know much else about it. This fall, my partner, who is a graduate student, started sharing the COVID-19 update emails.  I was immediately impressed with the depth and breadth of the reporting on local news. 

Thanks! We just try to recap the highlights. Most of the content comes from the weekly news conference when the local health officials update the media.

To me, the reporting feels transparent and comprehensive. You’re not trying to spin it too positively or be too cautious.

Thank you!  We strive to keep it factual, not opinionated. We’ve gotten practice with that. Our readers offer feedback and, sometimes, constructive criticism, which I always appreciate hearing—as it helps us improve our work.

What was it like to transition remotely in your work?

I was surprised at how much we could do remotely thanks to technology. I already had a home studio so I was all set. In March, we shifted our operation from mostly live programs to pre-recorded. We are very grateful that our last student general manager got it all going very quickly. But I’m really surprised at how much we’ve been able to grow and allow students to continue to have this hands-on experience and continue to train new reporters. Training is almost easier on Zoom because I can easily share my screen and teach reporters how to edit audio recordings.

What is something exciting about your work right now? 

I’m excited to see our brand new students getting involved. We have a lot of first and second year students which is different from other years. I’m so excited about the depth that the students bring to their stories. After the Capitol riots, we wanted someone to explore ideas around free speech. We had a student write a story about the riots and she brought in some of her knowledge of the first amendment from a class she had taken. The extra stuff that the students bring to their reporting is so exciting to see.

The KCSB News team continues to provide timely and meaningful reporting about the pandemic for our local and regional communities. For more information about KCSB and to sign up for the COVID updates, visit https://www.kcsb.org/category/news/. Go to kcsb.org and enter your email address at the bottom of the homepage where it says “Join our Newsletter.”

Pati Montojo

You might recognize her name among the myriad of daily D-List emails, but Pati Montojo ‘14 is one to watch. As Manager of the Academic and Staff Assistance Program (ASAP) and a licensed psychologist, she supervises a small team of staff committed to supporting the health and well-being of faculty, staff, and family members. ASAP provides confidential short-term counseling, consultation, wellness workshops, and assistance with threat management. This year, Pati was recognized by our community as one of this year’s Unsung Heroines, specifically for her role in starting a working mothers support group.

PWA: What motivates you at work?

Pati: My two young children. I work harder, longer and better for them. From my professional role and work experiences, I hope to teach my children to love learning, care about people, and work hard for whatever they want or believe in. 

PWA: Work can be challenging. What would you say is your approach to facing challenges that arise?

Pati: We, at ASAP, are busier than ever during this difficult time in our state and country. I am a strong team player and value my team. I seek support and ask for help. I could not face the challenges we are currently facing without the support of my staff.

PWA: What is something you've worked on and/or accomplished that you are proud of?

Pati: As a daughter of immigrant parents, who understood the importance of education, I am proud of the advanced degree and specialized training I received from my doctoral program, CCSP at UCSB. I am proud to be a bilingual Spanish-speaking psychologist of color.

PWA: What is one way that you relax/decompress/have fun outside of work?

Pati: After having my first child, I understood the value of community especially as a first time mother. I relocated my family to Santa Barbara to be close to my people. My tribe consists of strong women, mostly psychologists who graduated from the same doctoral program at UCSB, and among us we have ten children under the age of four. Social connections are imperative, now more than ever. Also, I will never pass an opportunity to date my husband, which is rare these days having two toddlers, and both being essential workers during a pandemic.

The Backpack Drive Comes Full Circle

This summer, much like everything else in our world, the fate of our 25th annual PWA backpack drive was uncertain. Given our health and safety concerns and with the Steering Committee working from home, we knew this year would look different.

In August, we were still finalizing the logistics when we got an encouraging email from a community member. Kundai Chikowero, a senior at Dos Pueblos High School, had always looked forward to the PWA backpack drive and was worried that it might not happen this due to COVID-19 and knew that the need would be higher than ever. So she organized her own successful supply drive! We had the pleasure of chatting with her about her fundraising efforts and what she’s looking forward to this year.

PWA: What has been your experience with the PWA Backpack drive over the years?

Kundai: My mom and dad work at UCSB, and through them I got to know about the PWA Annual Backpack drive. I have been a member of Youth Making Change (YWC), Santa Barbara, since 8th grade. Once I was aware of the PWA Annual Backpack drive, I decided to use part of my stipend from YMC each year to purchase school supplies and backpacks. I dropped off the supplies, mostly at the UCEN dropoff location. I was happy last year when for the first time you had a dropoff center in the UCSB Library. This was a very convenient location for me since my mom works at the UCSB Library. I look forward to the PWA drive every year because of its positive impact on Isla Vista Elementary School. IV being my alma mater, I have first-hand experience of how some students go without things like backpacks. It was exciting for me to learn how the PWA is doing this amazing work in our community. I feel fortunate to be a part of such a caring community.

PWA: Tell us more about your supply drive this summer!

Kundai: This summer we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. My dad's former UCSB student did a backpack drive for his community. This drive made me think a lot about the PWA Annual Backpack drive. With almost all UCSB employees working remotely I started getting a bit worried about how the backpack drive was going to work. I asked my mom and she wasn't too sure as well. I decided to use my YMC stipend to secure some backpacks and school supplies. An idea came to my mind to organize a virtual backpack fundraiser to augment what I had bought. Since I am still a minor, my mom helped me out to plan a GoFundMe fundraiser. I had a $500 target but the response was overwhelming. In less than 2 days, the target was exceeded by $110. I am grateful to all who shared it on social media and those who donated. I managed to buy 76 backpacks in total and a variety of other school supplies like colored pencils, pencils, erasers, binders, glue sticks, sharpeners, and boxes of Kleenex for the teachers. I handed over the supplies to the IV school Principal Ms. Reyes, who was simply overwhelmed with gratitude. I have to thank PWA for instilling in me in this sense of caring for one's community.

PWA: What are some issues you are passionate about right now?

Kundai: I am very passionate about racial equality. I have participated in the Martin Luther King essay and poetry competitions since 7th grade. I have read my winning poems and essays at various venues in Santa Barbara. I have self-published two poetry books with themes ranging from racial equality, women's rights among other things. I also care deeply about our environment to the point where I might venture into environmental law.

PWA: What are you most looking forward to this upcoming year?

Kundai: We are in a pandemic, which has been really challenging. I am trying to always look at the brighter side of life, hoping for a brighter tomorrow. I am looking forward to a lot of things. I am in my senior year of high school, so I am looking into college options. I am also looking forward to my final MLK poetry competition. Above all, I am simply looking forward and hoping for a love-filled society.