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My name is Darryl Lauster and I have been a resident
of Houston for nine years. I am an artist and Professor of Art working
at both the University of Houston and Houston Community College
Northeast. While education is my primary background, I have also
served on the Board of Directors for the Lawndale Art Center and
have been a grant panelist for the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris
County. In the past I have worked with local non-profit organizations
such as Project Row Houses and the Mildred’s Umbrella Theater
Company. I have written and received public grants at both the institutional
and personal level. I have also lectured publicly for the Rice School
of Continuing Education and the Blaffer Gallery. My work in the
non-profit realm has also afforded me with a keen awareness of the
necessity and successful implementation of fundraising and general
development strategies.
As an independent and progressive member of the
Houston community, I have come to regard KPFT’s programming
as not only an oasis from the contemporary monolithic media, but
an integral component of community empowerment and efficacy. I would
like to become a member of the KPFT Local Station Board to protect
and enhance our local programs and resources, but also to tap into
the strengths of other non-profit organizations, which are stocked
with listening and supportive members, increasing our resources
jointly, and intensifying our allied presence and potential throughout
the listening area. I will encourage and nurture the continued diversity
of opinion and interests so faithfully recognized by the KPFT and
Pacifica Foundation mission. It would be my personal goal to increase
our presence in the city of Houston and to create bridges to the
myriad of diverse communities around us, through which we might
unite and achieve specific goals together.
I am an avid listener of the BBC News, Democracy
Now, Go Vegan Texas, Connect the Dots and People of Earth radio.
In closing, let me say that this seems to me a time when our country
is at a particularly important crossroad. A campaign is being waged
over the control and dissemination of information, pitting the interests
and agendas of large media corporations over those of the public.
Information vital to the people must be presented in an accurate,
comprehensive and varied manner. I hold that mission dear, along
with KPFT and the Pacifica Foundation, and will work to insure that
the interests of the few no longer continue to obstruct the needs
of many.
darryl.lauster@hccs.edu
Candidate Questionnaire
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Why do you want to be on the Local Station
Board ?
I want to be a member of the local station board for three primary
reasons. First, as KPFT programs have been a significant part
of my daily life for nine years, I felt it was time for me to
give something back. I have the time, experience and passion
to benefit our station. Secondly, as an active member of many
non-profit art and cultural institutions in the city I feel
I can be an excellent advocate for the diverse communities of
our listening area and galvanize support and outreach activities
within them. Third, I am fully committed to protecting and ensuring
the free exchange of vital information to the public realm that
is under increasing censorship via large media corporations
and the current federal government.
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How do you envision the Local Station
Board working with the Pacifica Foundation,KPFT and the community?
The local station board, as I see it, serves
two integral functions. In keeping with The Pacifica Foundation
Mission, we serve to provide and safeguard the dissemination
of public information through varied, objective and comprehensive
means. In any democracy, its citizens are compelled to balance
the power of their constituents through an active and informed
capacity. KPFT works to balance the selfish interests of the
few by focusing on the needs of the many. In so doing they empower
local organizations, grass roots activism and community based
cultural enrichment. This second primary function of the board
works hand in hand with the first. One serves to provide, one
serves to nurture.
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How could the station better serve its'
listeners?
The station could better serve its listeners by becoming more
of a presence in the disenfranchised areas of our community.
Members of our city need to be aware that they have a voice
on our station, or can become their own, if they so choose.
We must also broaden our political power at the local level
by networking with other cultural institutions so that we can
all be more effective together, working to evolve social issues
which effect all of us in a positive manner.
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Describe some actions you would take to
increase the influence of the station in underrepresented communities
and to increase the diversity of the listening audience?
As an Instructor of Art at both the University of Houston and
Houston Community College Northeast, I have access not only
to the broad spectrum of diverse communities within the city,
but encourage cultural activism at a local and grass roots level
as a part of my curriculum. My personal teaching philosophy
is to nurture and inform, instilling in my students the necessity
of actively taking control of their futures. Beyond this everyday
thrust, I will specifically work as a liaison to the non-profit
organizations I am currently affiliated with, such as Project
Row Houses, the Lawndale Art Center, and more, to tap into these
areas and create a network for our mutual growth.
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What sources of funding, other than listener
donations, do you feel KPFT should solicit?
Having a great deal of experience with non-profit fundraisers
and general development strategies, I would actively encourage
a yearly gala or similar fundraising benefit through which many
listening communities might have a presence. I have also written
and received many grants, both at the institutional and personal
level, and would be happy to spearhead such endeavors.
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Please state briefly the skills, experience,
educational background, work history, organizational affiliations,
areas of community service, areas of interest and expertise
that you would bring to the Pacifica network as a member of
the Local Station Board?
I have worked as an Art Instructor at the University of Houston
and the Houston Community College System for 6 years. I have
a BFA from San Diego State University and an MFA from the University
of Houston. I have lectured publicly for the Rice School of
Continuing Education and The Blaffer Gallery and currently write
for several arts publications in the city. I have served on
the Board of Directors for the Lawndale Art Center and have
been a Grants Panelist for the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris
County. I have participated in various educational programs
for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Contemporary Art Museum
Houston, The Glassel School of Art, Mildred's Umbrella Theater
Troupe, The Houston Seminar and Project Row Houses. I am also
an active contributor to Diverseworks, The Avenue Community
Development Corporation, The College Art Association, The Audubon
Society and the Houston S.P.C.A.
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Do you anticipate missing any Local Station
Board meetings due to family or job related problems or inadequate
transportation?
I do not anticipate missing any meetings.
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On which Local Station Board committees
are you interested in actively serving? If you are a current
Local Station Board member, on which committees do you currently
serve?
I would be interested in serving on the Diversity and Anti-Racism,
Technology, Outreach, Program Policy, Development and World
Affairs Committees. I am particularly interested in the Outreach
and Development Committees.
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