The BFF.fm Board guides the strategic direction and long-term sustainability of the station, helping us build powerful, inclusive community radio for San Francisco. In partnership with our Executive Director and Founder, Cosmic Amanda, the board’s leadership helps ensure that our mission, values, and our superpowers of positivity and inclusion are embodied in everything we do.

Meet our board members and learn more about their connection to BFF.fm:

Brandon Paski is back for a second term after a brief absence. BFF.fm’s mission deeply resonates with Brandon, whose love of radio began in 8th grade. Having experienced the tension between art and commerce in commercial radio, Brandon values the creative freedom and community spirit of independent stations, and feels their power to connect people is vital to preserve.

Irving Pham (aka DJ Swirving) just began his second board term and third year as board Treasurer. As a college student, Irving was dissuaded from joining the radio program because it seemed overly exclusive and elitist. The inclusive and welcoming ethos of BFF.fm was immediately apparent to him and appreciated. Ever since joining BFF, he’s noticed how much that mission permeates the community's culture and how we empower individuals to work together for the greater good.

Kenya Lewis is a new board member who recently joined to help us with our LPFM. Kenya believes that local, independent radio fosters human connection and imagination in ways that are more important now than ever. Beyond music discovery, radio is essential for building community, responding in emergencies, and creating common ground with our neighbors. Channels protected to serve the local public interest are most vital when they genuinely endeavor to do so by being inclusive, curious, and act as a vital hub of creativity.

Mark Pearson is in the midst of his first board term and has been flexing his network and legal skills for us. Mark fell in love with radio long before becoming an attorney working in music and entertainment. He was an overnight DJ at KCSM FM 91.1 in the Bay Area, back when an FCC license was still required. Radio has remained a constant, from summer days listening to Giants games on KNBR to oldies playing while working with his dad, and continues through his involvement with BFF.fm and the Bay Area Radio and Television Museum.

Nathan Pham is another new board member who recently joined us, and he is already thinking of ways to help expand our reach and impact. Nathan believes that BFF.fm brings back the magic of music discovery through a shared experience, just like how we once shared mixtapes or burned CDs with friends. Algorithm-spoon-fed content is antithetical to building community and human connection. But, BFF.fm is the soil that fosters this humanistic experience, and he wants to help it be sustained, preserved, and grown by getting more people involved.

Vena Tambellini is our third new board member who recently joined us and will work with Irving on managing the BFF.fm budget and building an endowment, as well as help with grant writing. Vena is inspired by and loves working with creative people in all aspects of the arts, including Music, Fine Art, and Theatre. She was also able to work with a lot of creative individuals during her career in Advertising, and belonged to several non-profit organizations supporting those in the industry, including for the Bay Advertising Relief Committee as a Board Member. Vena believes in giving back to her community.

This year, the BFF.fm Board is strategizing around three key priorities: Strengthen Organizational & Collaborative Capacity, Grow and Diversify Fundraising for Long-Term Sustainability, and Deepen Audience & Community Connection.

Thank you to the BFF.fm Board of Directors for all you do to support the station and help us plan for the future!