Marisa Waddell
Director of Programming and Content/Host of The Road Home/Contributor KCBX News and Issues & IdeasAs director of programming and content, Marisa Waddell coordinates the radio programming on KCBX and KCBX HD2 and leads efforts to develop content on the KCBX website and other digital platforms. She manages the KCBX on-air and newsroom staff, volunteer program hosts, and contributors. Marisa also hosts the Americana music program The Road Home, (Thurs. 6:30-8:00 p.m.) and contributes interviews and stories to the weekly KCBX radio magazine Issues and Ideas and to KCBX News.
Marisa has played a vital role in the success of KCBX's Live Oak Music Festival since 1992 as a member of — and then chair — of the Booking and Programming Committee, assembling outstanding lineups of musical acts that have delighted and surprised audiences. She has been the artistic director of Live Oak since 2017.
Marisa has had a lifelong love for public radio. Her mom tells her that she was listening to Chicago's WFMT in the womb. She began as a volunteer classical music host and then weekend staff announcer on KCBX at age 19, while studying broadcasting at Cuesta College. She worked at commercial station KKUS in San Luis Obispo and then, while working toward her bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications and Film from San Diego State University, Marisa was the weekday afternoon classical music announcer at KPBS FM. On her return to San Luis Obispo in 1990, she became the classical music director at KCBX . She also produced, wrote, edited and hosted a local issues radio magazine, "Audio Excursions," and contributed news stories to the statewide news program, "The California Report."
In 2006 Marisa left KCBX to pursue her master's degree in mass communication and journalism at California State University Fresno. Before returning to the station as program director in 2012, she worked in film and television as a producer, writer, director and editor of documentaries and commercials; and for an international educational media company as an implementation specialist and creator of digital and print content and training material.
Marisa's email: marisa@kcbx.org
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Eccentric socialite Peggy Guggenheim [GOO-gen-hym] had an affair with Samuel Beckett, smuggled art out of Nazi Germany, and introduced Jackson Pollock to…
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There’s a big change going on in the foster care system in California. New reforms aim to get foster children out of group homes and into homes with…
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The owners of Justin Vineyards and Winery are apologizing for a controversial expansion effort that involved clear-cutting an oak woodland in the Paso…
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Public meetings are scheduled later this summer to discuss an upcoming change to the 805 area code.The availability of 805 prefixes is expected to run out…
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After reviewing 134 candidates, the San Luis Obispo Symphony’s selection committee has announced five finalists for Music Director. Hear about the…
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About one in six people in San Luis Obispo County are considered to be “food insecure.” Learn how a local program, Glean SLO, harvests produce from farms,…
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The Central Coast quintet, Café Musique, is about to release its fourth album, Ebb and Flow. Marisa Waddell talks with the band's violinist, Brynn…
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Jake Shimabukuro is the best known ukulele player in the world. He has brought attention to the instrument through his virtuosic playing and arrangements…
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Listen to a preview of the Festival Mozaic, which features a first-time collaboration with the Bach Collegium San Diego to present Bach's Mass in B minor…
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Marisa Waddell chats with Michael Nowak, the music director of the San Luis Obispo Symphony, about the orchestra's upcoming "Subscriber's Choice" concert,…