Ali Budner came to KALW as a volunteer reporter with Crosscurrents in early 2009, then joined the Your Call team as a producer in March of 2010.
In 3+ years, Ali produced more than 500 live shows on a diverse array of topics, from health care to the environment to education, politics, the arts, and beyond.
She also helped facilitate and teach a 10-month radio education program, KALW’s then-nascent Audio Academy.
While at KALW, Ali reported and co-produced an hour long documentary, The Race To An Emergency, about the 9-1-1 system in Oakland, California. In 2014, the piece was honored with several awards including the national Edward R. Murrow award for best radio news documentary in a large market.
In late 2014, Ali traveled to Fukushima, Japan with a group of journalists from San Francisco State University to report on the ongoing aftermath of the tsunami and radiation disaster of 2011. Her feature story from the trip aired on KALW.