Staff Biographies

General Manager (WUFT-FM/TV)--Richard A. Lehner (gm@wuft.org)

Rick is General Manager of WUFT-TV/FM, WJUF-FM, and WLUF in the College of Journalism & Communications at the University of Florida, a position he has held since 1981. He is past chair of the Southern Educational Communications Association, past chair of the Florida Public Broadcasting, Service, Inc., and has served on the National Program Policy Committee/Assessment Policy Committee of PBS.  His background includes work with commercial and public television and radio stations in Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana. He has taught radio and television courses at both Indiana University and for the U.S. Department of Defense Information School.  Rick is a graduate of Indiana University with an M.S. in Radio/Television and Instructional Systems and a B.S. in Radio/Television. He has done post-master's course work in business administration at Indiana University School of Business and advanced management at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Station Manager--Henri Pensis (hpensis@wuft.org)

Henri has served as WUFT-FM Manager since 1989, and has overseen the addition of the Radio Reading Service for the Blind and the establishment of WJUF-FM in Citrus County.  He got started in radio while at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.  After graduation, he worked as Program Director at WDCB in Glen Ellyn, IL, moved south to hold the same job at WHIL in Mobile in 1983, and went from there to become General Manager of WWNO in New Orleans in 1987.  Among what his family says are his "too many hobbies" is playing flute and piccolo in the Gainesville Municipal Band and the Central Florida Symphony.  He also plays in early music ensembles (and has been spotted in the past at the Hogtown Renaissance Faire).  He is a lifelong Chicago White Sox fan--and as a Green Bay Packer fan, enjoys the chagrin of the station's resident Dallas Cowboy fan (the webmaster, who would like to point out that if the Packers didn't play half their games in an icebox, their opponents would do a lot better.......)

Program Director--Bill Beckett (bbeckett@wuft.org)

Music Director--Richard Drake (rdrake@wuft.org)

Richard is a native, born and raised in central Florida (he won't say how long ago except his grade school had no AC). First job was at an Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips where every pore in his adolescent face was coaxed into pimplehood. That job ended following a mishap involving a moonball which broke his arm and collarbone.   Worked summers in the phosphate mines in Polk County ("if you saw what phosphoric acid does to asphalt, you'd never drink another brown soda") unloading sulfuric acid from railroad cars. Nasty work but it paid well and the acne cleared up.    Worked as a student at Classic 89 and was hired, after graduating from the University of Florida, as Music Director.  It was only after several years with Public Radio "that I realized it's vital advocacy of free speech."  After this revelation, a career helping to maintain this crucial resource was obvious.

Jazz Director--Chuck Michaelson (cmichaelson@wuft.org)

Chuck Michaelson is the Jazz Director at WUFT/WJUF-FM. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, but has lived in Florida for most of his life. He received two music degrees from University of Florida (B.A. in Musicology in 1985, Master of Music in 1989) and has worked at Classic 89 in several capacities for the past ten years. His current responsibilities include programming music for the Nightbridge, hosting and producing Montage and Musica Antiqua;  supervising and training student announcers; and producing Community Update, an underwritten public service announcement. In addition to his radio work, Chuck is a regularly performing pianist and keyboardist in North Central Florida.

News Director--Kevin Allen (kma@wuft.org)

Kevin heads the newsroom at the University's public radio stations, where students prepare and broadcast morning and noon newscasts and an afternoon magazine show every weekday, and he teaches the advanced radio reporting class at the University of Florida.  (In addition, because he was silly enough to go to an HTML class, he is the station's default webmaster.)  He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and a masters from the University of North Texas.  He joined WUFT in 1993 after more than a decade in radio news. His prior experience includes stints at commercial and public radio stations in Missouri and Texas. He has served as a general assignment reporter, covered the Missouri statehouse for a year, reported for AP, UPI, ABC, NPR and Monitor Radio, and been a producer for a satellite radio newscast service. His reporting has won awards from the Missouri Broadcasters Association and the Florida AP Broadcasters.

Executive Producer--Donna Green-Townsend (dgt@wuft.org)

Donna Green-Townsend is the Features Unit Executive Producer at WUFT-FM and WJUF.  She's worked in broadcasting, particulary public radio, for twenty years in Missouri, Kansas and Florida. She has a B.J. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.  She's the recipient of numerous state and regional as well as national news reporting awards.

Operations Director--Steve Seipp (sseipp@wuft.org)

Steve is in charge of making sure the people who bring you the music and programming on Classic 89 and Naturecoast 90 know what they're doing.   (In other words, he supervises the announcers.)  Steve's very familiar with the station, having worked here as a student in the 1980's.  After graduation, he decided he'd found a home here, and stayed on.  He's known around the station as one of the quietest (but still avid) pro wrestling fans around, and is easily recognizable by one of his ever-present baseball caps.

Chief Engineer--Manis Samons (msamons@wuft.org)

Manis has been in public radio since back in the early 70s, when NPR was in its infancy.  After sixteen years at WBKY at the University of Kentucky he and his wife decided that instead vacationing in Florida maybe they should just move here, so, in early 1989 they did just that. He says, "I've enjoyed very much my 28+ years in Public Radio and though my primary interest is the technical aspect of the stations, I also enjoy many other things that we do."

Assistant Engineering Director--Tim Kinney (tkinney@wuft.org)

Tim was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and lived there until, at age 23, he followed his parents to Sarasota, Florida. In Sarasota he received an A.S. degree in Electronics Technology from Manatee Community College. After graduation, Tim moved to Gainesville and began his career at Vital Industries, a maker of Video Production Switchers. He worked in Final Testing and R&D. For the next 20 years, Tim worked for several Electronics Manufacturing Firms in the Gainesville area, mostly making Video Production Equipment. In the late Eighties, Tim worked for several years as a Technologist for WUFT-TV, and also, worked for six months on contract to WRUF-FM as a Radio Engineer. Tim has been with WUFT-FM since 1994. His other interests are running and weight-training, nutrition and health, and the occasional cigar.

Administrative Assistant--Nancy Ward (nward@wuft.org)

"Mom" to many of us at the station, Nancy has been Administrative Assistant here since 1988.  She says she enjoys her role in this "special family". "I appreciate having classical music to listen to in my workplace and being kept informed of the latest news provided by our 'award winning news department' as well as public affairs programming.", she says.  "Sometimes I realize how much I take for granted the effort that goes into this station in areas that are not seen i.e., production, editing, operations, engineering and on-air broadcasting especially so being that we are a training ground for students."   Away from the office, Nancy enjoys flower gardening and spending time with  family and grandchildren (whom she is inordinately proud of).

Director, Radio Reading Service--Jean DeFlumer (jdeflumer@wuft.org)

Jean is originally from Delmar, NY, but after graduating from SUNY-Albany with a BA in Psychology in 1975, she moved directly to Florida and has been here ever since.  She's well equipped to work at the RRS--having more than 20 years experience working with the disabled, and ten years experience volunteering and coordinating volunteer activities.  She has volunteered with the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross, the Girls Club of Alachua County (twice named Volunteer of the Year), and the Alachua County School system. She came to the RRS in 1999 from the Tacachale State Institution for the Developmentally Disabled, where she won one of the state government's top awards--the Davis Productivity Award--in 1991. Her interests include reading, taking leisurely walks and bike rides, and attending her daughter's practices and volleyball games ("She eats, sleeps, and breathes volleyball.  Come to think of it, so do I!")

Development Director (WUFT-FM/TV)--Brent Williams  (bwilliams@wuft.org)

Brent is Director of Development and Community Relations for WUFT-FM and WJUF-FM, as well as our sister public television station WUFT-TV. Brent has been with the stations since 1977, serving as Director of Corporate Support and Director of Communications prior to assuming his current postion in 1988. He holds two degrees from the University of Florida; Master of Arts in Journalism and Communications and Bachelor of Science in Broadcasting. Brent is active in industry and community activities. He currently serves as Chairman of the Development Committee for Florida Public Broadcasting, President of the Alachua County Public Schools Foundation, Secretary of the Rotary Club of Gainesville and is on the Board of Directors of The Dignity Project.