Mentorship Tune-Up

Alejandra Salazar (she/her) is a story editor and audio producer based in Los Angeles. She’s worked as producer and editor at Latino USA, a news producer and reporter for WNYC, and is currently a senior editor for TED podcasts. Her reporting has been featured in outlets like NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Dallas Morning News.

Areas of Support:

editing story structure and scripts; helping journalists report for audio; offering tips and feedback on pitching stories

Ashleyanne Krigbaum (she/her) has worked in public radio and podcasts for over 15 years. She is currently a Managing Producer at Campside Media. Previously, Ashleyanne was a producer and editor based at NPR stations KQED and KALW and has worked with Pop-Up Magazine, The Heart, This American Life, 99% Invisible, Radiolab, and Reply All. She's also a freelance sound designer and DJ, and on the weekends, you can find her organizing her record collection.

Areas of Support:

editing story structure and scripts; helping journalists report for audio; offering tips and feedback on pitching stories

Jaxson McLennan is an independent producer with 15 years of experience working across film, television and audio. Jaxson spent the first decade of his career in Australia before moving to LA to help set up the audio storytelling division of Lionsgate. While there, he produced 2023's biggest true crime show, Scamanda, now an ABC/Hulu documentary series. He has also worked with clients including iHeartRadio, The Free Press, Pod People and Voyage Media.

Areas of Support:

Story and narrative structure/story-building, writing, managing a production and contributors, recording/editing/mixing/sound design, development, interviewing

Itxy Quintanilla is an audio journalist and senior podcast producer based in Los Angeles, CA. She's produced podcasts for Hello Sunshine, Spotify, Crooked Media, and more. She got her start in radio as an intern for NPR and KCRW, and worked at KPCC (now LAist) for several years. 

Areas of Support:

Editing story structure and scripts; helping journalists report for audio; offering tips and feedback on pitching stories

Nick Ryan is a Sr. Managing Producer at Wondery, overseeing day-to-day production for all new Always-On Wondery podcasts. Nick leads the production operations launch team, managing production for around 20 shows across the Talk, Narrative Nonfiction, and Kids & Family genres. Nick was formerly the Director of Operations for APM Studios.

Areas of Support:

Demystifying the business and operations of podcast production. Funding, pitching, building teams, and working at major studios.

Jenn Swann is a freelance reporter and producer based in Los Angeles. She is the host, writer, and executive producer of the ten-part podcast series "My Friend Daisy," a production of London Audio with support from Sony Music Entertainment. She's a former senior producer on Wondery's "Scamfluencers" and a former contributor to KCRW's Design and Architecture. She's been involved with LARC since 2021. 

Areas of Support:

Story structure and editing, outlining episodes and series, reporting in the field, pitching shows. 

Melissa Akiko Slaughter (she/her) is an audio producer based on Pasadena. She's works at Pineapple Street Studios, making award-winning TV companion podcasts like Netflix's Behind The Scenes: Stranger Things, HBO's House of the Dragon, Hacks, and Chernobyl, and Amazon Studios The Rings of Power. She's also worked on two narrative series for Apple TV+, Magnificent Jerk and Project Unabom. Melissa's been involved with LARC since she moved from NYC to LA in 2024.

Areas of Support:

Pre-production organization, giving feedback on story structure, writing preps for interviews and outlines for stories, managing teams.

Isabella Kulkarni is an independent radio producer and reporter, currently working on weekly shows with Lemonada Media. She's filed for Marketplace + Latino USA worked on several shows with Gimlet, like Undone, Mogul and The Nod, helped launch the podcast network at The Ringer and EPd several Audible Originals. She has also taught and edited grad students at Columbia's Journalism School.

Areas of Support:

Getting good tape, field producing, reporting and interviewing. Writing for the ear, navigating the podcast industry.

Molly Quinlan Artwick (she/her) is a writer, editor, and producer of podcasts. She's had stints as a Hollywood assistant, a (fake) secret agent, and even managed a turkey's social media accounts. She's worked as a writer and story editor for Parcast/Spotify's scripted fiction shows, and as a writer/producer for the children's science podcasts Brains On! and Moment of Um at American Public Media. She's currently an Associate Producer for Redacted at Wondery.

Areas of Support:

Developing show ideas, crafting story structure, and writing for audio 101.

David is the creator of the experimental short form podcast Random Tape. He was a staff reporter at Marketplace and KCRW, where he hosted the podcast Welcome to LA, which was named one of the best podcasts of 2018 and 2020. His story about an underground french fry maverick won a national Edward R. Murrow for best feature reporting in 2017. He also made The Superhero Complex and Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto, which was optioned by FX. His print work has been published in The New York Times.

Areas of Support:

Writing, editing, reporting.