We are truly excited and honored to have Chad Rufer on this month’s episode of Trailblazers. Chad discovered his passion for music during his teenage years while involved with his high school’s radio station, KWDM. At just sixteen, he landed his first real radio job hosting a Saturday night “Party Song” show on KLYF in Des Moines, IA, while also anchoring news for its sister station, WHO-AM.   With over 30 years of radio experience, Chad has risen from weekend on-air talent to Vice President of Programming for one of the most respected radio groups in the industry. His expertise has earned him recognition as one of the "Best Program Directors in America" by Radio Ink in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as being named one of Country Radio's Top Program Directors in 2023 and 2024.

This month, we are joined by Tom Fox, President and Founder of the award-winning Compliance Podcast Network and the Texas Hill Country Podcast Network where Tom personally produces over 70 podcasts each week! Tom has won multiple awards for podcast hosting and producing and has the distinct honor of garnering awards for series as diverse as Looking Back on 9/11, Understanding Lyme Disease, and Trial of the Century: The Enron Trial. He is also an Executive leader at the C-Suite Network, the world’s most trusted network of C-Suite leaders.   Find out how his curiosity and a major life event led him to podcasting. Learn how he cracked the code to monetize and earn a six-figure income via 5 distinct revenue streams as a content producer in rural Texas!   Tom is also a best-selling author, having written 32 books on compliance, business ethics, and leadership. He is the author of the seminal The Compliance Handbook, 5th edition. He has published a 3-book children’s book series, Compliance Kids, including Being a Compliance Officer is Awesome, Speaking Up is Awesome, and Compliance Saves the Galaxy. Tom Fox is a true Trailblazer! Tune in to find out how you can become one too!

We are truly excited and honored to have Jason Barrett, the President and Founder of Barrett Media, on this month’s episode of Trailblazers. Before launching his company in 2015, Jason worked in the industry for 20 years as a programmer, host, and producer. Jason has served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming Sports Talk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. He also worked as an on-air talent and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He then spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT, including The Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight. Still involved in radio, podcasting, and the tech world, find out how you can become a Trailblazer like Jason too!

This month on the Trailblazers podcast we are very excited to have Steve Goldstein as our guest. Steve is an internationally recognized executive and leader in scaling and refining audio ventures across podcasting, radio, satellite radio, and voice platforms. He has developed scores of successful podcast initiatives, radio shows, top talent, and monetization strategies. Steve is an adjunct professor at NYU where he teaches "The Business of Podcasting," the first course at a major university focused on the burgeoning podcast ecosystem. Known for his creativity, unique diagnostic tools, and ability to see what’s next, Steve was early to podcasting, launching Amplifi Media in 2015. Before that, he was a founding partner and EVP of Saga Communications. The company grew to over 100 radio stations and became publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange. Please listen to this month's episode featuring Steve Goldstein, to find out why podcasts fail, what you can do to ensure yours doesn't, the future of audio, and so much more. Steve is a true Trailblazer.  Find out how you can become one too on this month’s episode of Trailblazers.

This month we are excited to have Talaya Trigueros, on-air talent/host of Sirius XM Watercolors Channel 66 (Monday through Saturday) and occasionally of Real Jazz Channel 67. In this episode, Talaya discusses the beginning of her radio career at the University of New Mexico’s KUNM playing Latin Jazz and Salsa, followed by a move to San Francisco where KRE-AM, a legendary Jazz station in Berkeley, quickly hired her. There she was given her own show, Sabor y Salsa, and due to her stellar ratings in the Bay Area, the company transferred her to Los Angeles to launch The Quiet Storm at KUTE. While there she was the first in the country to interview Sade and play "Smooth Operator,” a favorite artist and song from fans alike. In 1988, The WAVE hired her in Los Angeles where she remained for many years. As a consummate professional, Talaya has received numerous awards including the inaugural 1998 R&R Industry Achievement Award for Smooth Jazz On-Air Personality, the GENII Award for Excellence in Radio from Alliance for Women in Media, the National Hispanic Media Coalition along with honorary recognitions from the Los Angeles County and City Board of Supervisors and the prestigious Angelus Award. Her genuine happiness is spending time with her husband Tony of 46 years, two children, and five grandchildren. We are very excited to have Talaya on this month’s episode because, for over 30 years, her success has been unmatched and she is still figuring out ways to get us to love the radio format and music. Find out why and how she’s had such longevity in the business. Talaya is a true Trailblazer. Find out how you can become one too if you want to follow in her footsteps.

This month we are excited to have Sam Parker, Creative Director at WIZZFX - a custom audio production branding service, responsible for crafting the sound of some of the biggest radio and podcast brands across the globe. Alongside Chris Nicoll, Sam leads a team of creatives pushing the boundaries of “traditional” radio imaging and sonic branding. Championing grassroots talent is one of his core values and further helps to differentiate the WIZZFX Masterclass platform, currently the only radio imaging training resource of its kind. He also provides mentorship to aspiring audio producers in the UK’s Student Radio Association and further afield. In this episode, Sam not only discusses his experiences in radio and his current responsibilities at WIZZFX, but he also showcases a step-by-step process of how you, the listener, can make a promo in just 2 minutes using a toolkit like WIZZFX Construct. Sam is a true trailblazer, and like Chris, we are all very proud to work alongside him and the entire WIZZFX team. You will too! Whether you're looking for completely custom fully-produced promos, sweepers, and more, or just interested in the imaging toolkit to create your own, WIZZFX allows you to bundle your agreement with Megatrax or as a stand-alone product.

We had so much left to talk about with Dylan Riggs, Director of Production Operations at Audacy nationwide,  that we welcomed him back for another episode! Dylan is responsible for all commercial production at Audacy, is an executive producer of the “The Daly Download Top 30 Countdown with Carson Daly,” and is a voiceover talent that can be heard on 100+ stations weekly across North America. In this episode,  we discussed with Dylan his memorable moments in radio, his mindset changes from being an on-air jock to a director of production operations, his experience working on the Carson Daly radio show and all the different layers of social media in the radio industry and why he changed from on-air to production due to social media! Dylan’s amazing radio experiences and his “never accepting no as an answer” mindset has made him a true Trailblazer at the helm of one of the nation’s largest radio companies.   Dylan is, without a doubt, a TrailBlazer.  Find out how you can become one too!

On this month’s episode we are joined by Garrick Whitehead who is currently Senior Audio Producer/Imaging/Voiceover for Educational Media Foundation – a non-profit, multi-platform media company that owns the nation’s largest contemporary Christian radio networks – K-LOVE and Air 1. Garrick has worked around the globe3 as a DJ and audio producer and is obsessed with sound and how it touches the listeners.  He is also the father of 7 children (yes, 7)! and husband to one beautiful wife.  In this episode of TrailBlazers, Garrick talks about his transition of being an architectural student to his beginnings in the radio industry, his day-to-day operations at EMF,  and the radio tools that he likes to use on his radio programs. He  also briefly discusses the importance of internships and his advice on entering the radio industry for anyone interested in joining the field and the tools to master. Garrick’s life and work experience truly makes him a Trailblazer!  Have a listen and find out how you too can become a Trailblazer!

On this month’s episode we are joined by Dylan Riggs, Director of Production Operations at Audacy,  nationwide.  Dylan is responsible for all commercial production at Audacy, is an executive producer of the “The Daly Download Top 30 Countdown with Carson Daly,” and is a voiceover talent that can be heard on 100+ stations weekly across North America.  He’s also a guitar hoarder (54 and counting).   Dylan talks about his experiences at different radio stations, his love of metal music, and an incredible story about his fist internship detailing how he got started in the radio industry. He also shares with us about his success in radio and meeting all the great radio people who have helped him throughout his career.  He shares many great ways to succeed and how to stay on your A-Game.   Dylan’s “never accepting no as an answer” mentality has made him a true Trailblazer at the helm of one of the nation’s largest radio companies.   Dylan is, without a doubt, a TrailBlazer.  Find out how you can become one too!

On this month’s episode we are joined by Joel Denver, President, Publisher, and Co- founder of All Access Music Group. Joel has been heard on many markets from Miami to San Diego, and has been a program director, record promoter, CHR Editor of Radio and Records and now the head of All Access Music Group-one of the nation’s most successful radio and podcasting trade publications.    2023 began ALL ACCESS’ 28th year of success serving all of radio/streaming platforms/podcasting and working with all music labels, creative content partners and hundreds of allied business partners to deliver music to decision makers and provide a 24/7/365 marketing and information ecosystem for their products and services.  Joel recently announced the closing of All Access on August 15, 2023.   In this episode of Trailblazer’s, Joel talks about his inspirations in becoming a great program director, his transition into Radio & Records, his career advice and experience working in the radio world. Find out what makes Joel Denver tick and why he gets up at 3:40 AM every morning!  Also, find out what the greatest piece of advice he’s ever received and how we can all benefit from this advice he was given.   Joel Denver is a true Trailblazer!  Find out how you can become one too!