Ben Trefny
Executive ProducerMy current job title is Executive Producer of KALW. That means lots of things.
I've worked here since 2004. As Executive News Editor and then News Director, I helped our news department win numerous regional and national awards for long- and short-form journalism. I've also helped create numerous training programs — for teenagers, incarcerated people, and early-career journalists — and have taught hundreds of audio producers. I served as interim Executive Director for nearly two years.
My work is currently focused on creating original live events, programming, and building partnerships with like-minded organizations. I oversee KALW's community space at 220 Montgomery Street in downtown San Francisco where I organize town hall conversations, film screenings, literature readings, concerts, and fundraisers. I also curate the 111 Minna Street stage for Downtown First Thursdays and partner with organizations including the Cal Academy of Sciences, Live Free USA, Manny's, and others in developing programming.
I currently serve on the Journalism and Media Ethics Council at Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. I'm a board member with the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and served that organization as president for four years. And I'm a Maynard 200 Fellow.
I live with my wife near San Francisco's Ocean Beach and spend as much time as I can outside.
You can reach me at ben.trefny@kalw.org.
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CrosscurrentsIf you’re walking down Montgomery Street in downtown San Francisco and find yourself looking up at a 15 foot tall cat, you might not be hallucinating, you might actually be standing in front of the windows of KALWs popup space. -
CrosscurrentsCan you contain infinity in a box? For 12 years, San Francisco born artist Matt Elson has been using very carefully angled mirrors to do just that. -
CrosscurrentsIf you come by our San Francisco downtown space at 220 Montgomery you can visit our rotating art gallery. On display now is art from the Burning Man community. And this week, we’ll be bringing you conversations with those artists. Today, we hear from Brenden Blaine Darby. -
CrosscurrentsSan Francisco artist Michael Kerbow uses his talents to illustrate that connection. The painter is currently showing a collection depicting dinosaurs interacting with how we now use their remains as fuel. -
CrosscurrentsThis year science fiction became science fact. The first human patient implanted with a brain-chip from Elon Musk’s Neuralink appears to have fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts. And Google just entered the space with their product, the Google Brain. -
CrosscurrentsThe tiny town of San Pippo lies in lowlands, smack dab between Marin and Sonoma Counties. And, recent heavy rains literally turned its streets into canals. It’s a devastating effect of climate change, but civic leaders don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. -
CrosscurrentsEarlier this year, The San Francisco Unified School District announced that it will need to cut costs to address their budget deficit and declining enrollment. The cuts could result in school closures. To understand how this will work we sit down with SFUSD's Superintendent Matt Wayne. -
CrosscurrentsYesterday would have been Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s 105th birthday. The Bay Area literary icon died in 2021. He is most associated with books and poetry — and rightly so. But before he published Howl, before he opened City Lights and before the Beats he was part of the World War Two effort. -
CrosscurrentsHalf a dozen women whose children were killed by, after encounters with, or without the protection of law enforcement officials came together at the de Young's Kehinde Wiley exhibit. -
School officials in California are preparing for an influx of refugee students from Afghanistan.
