Wysong makes way for new energy at AZYEP

By James Steindler

Contributing Editor

When you walk into the KDNK Community Access Radio station, mosey down the hallway, and to the right you’re met with a door stacked with stickers of positivity and acceptance. Through this portal is the headquarters to the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program (AZYEP) office, a post Beth Wysong has loyally shepherded for nearly a decade.

Wysong started at AZYEP in 2014 and transitioned to the executive director role in 2017.

“The program quickly became more than a job for me,” Wysong shared in a letter to the community announcing her departure. “AZYEP became a place where my education, passions, goals and hopes for the future collided. Youth radio won my heart.”

She always felt sharing music was a medium of expression not reliant on a person’s own words. As a teen, her dad was the one who suggested she’d be a good teacher one day. Still, as an undergrad, she decided to study communications with an emphasis in media studies.

Wysong moved to Santiago, Chile, for a year, teaching English and volunteering at a homeless shelter. From there, she returned to the states and enrolled in a master’s program for educational leadership at Colorado State University.

Before AZYEP, she taught eighth grade social studies and English at

Glenwood Springs Middle School. While helping out with the Access After School program, Wysong was introduced to youth radio by former AZYEP executive director Stacy Stein.

“All of a sudden, I was using my background in communication and media studies, my degree in educational leadership, my enormous passion for music and my love for public radio,” Wysong summarized for The Sopris Sun.

Stein continued with the executive administrative duties, and Wysong took on programming, which rapidly grew. She, with some support from Stein, was also the sole broadcast instructor at the time, sitting in with youth DJs for AZYEP’s six hours of radio time each week.

After Stein’s departure, Wysong quickly realized the need for additional support. Suzanne Fitzgerald, the current principal of Bridges High School, and Paige Gibbons, who is now AZYEP’s broadcast instructor coordinator, were brought on to help. Today, there are three broadcast instructors, along with a few substitutes in the mix.

Wysong appreciates each of her staff members for the varying interests they bring to the program. “The way that the program evolves is: number one, the interest the kids have; but also the passion of the instructors,” she shared.

“I would say, you [Wysong] run your own ‘adult empowerment program,’ alongside the youth empowerment program,” Gibbons chimed in, noting

Wysong’s penchant for elevating her own peers as well.

A professional development component extends to the youth as well, of course. Currently, AZYEP has five high school interns. Wysong credits the organization’s program manager, Adele Craft, for this. In fact, Craft is an AZYEP alumna.

“It’s the most authentic classroom, being on the radio,” Wysong explained. From public speaking to technical engineering, it gives kids the opportunity to make mistakes and to move on quickly. “So, the kids learn, in a safe space, that a mistake that seems really big … isn’t a big deal. They still walk out of the studio feeling good about themselves and feeling like their voice made a difference.”

“It’s deceptively simple, too,” added Gibbons. She noted that when a kid is in the studio they can’t see their audience whilst developing confidence, and often only later realize they do indeed have listeners.

“I would advocate for every radio station in this country to put kids on the radio, because it’s so simple,” urged Wysong. “Give them a microphone, they’ll step up and they’ll feel good about themselves.”

She continued, “The empowerment piece is what’s important, and using radio as the medium to do that is what I’ve been passionate about.”

Wysong looks forward to the fresh energy her successor will bring. She intends to stick around for the transition

“dismal” life of sobriety, I found a community of smart, funny, talented individuals who shared with me a way to live, happily and often content, without the use of mind altering substances.

My fabulous life of hangovers, debt, tears and unending loneliness was over. There was a glimmer of hope for the first time in close to 15 years. That feeling alone was enough to keep me from picking up a drink for quite a while.

After about six months I found myself auditioning for Aspen Community Theatre. They helped reignite my “childhood” passion. Within a year, I was cast in a show and getting paid to perform. I was also able to buy the condo in Woody Creek and was realizing dreams beyond my imagination.

Then, 18 months sober, I landed a dream job as general manager and performer at the Crystal Palace Theater Restaurant. I had auditioned for this continues on page 18 and continue to support programming within the schools. AZYEP expects to announce the new executive director in the next couple of weeks.

“Andy’s legacy started at KDNK,” Wysong stated. Today, “KDNK and AZYEP are bigger than any one human being. It’s what the community puts into it, and I believe that with all of my heart.”

Tune it for Everything Under The Sun on KDNK Thursday, May 11 at 4pm for a live interview with Wysong and part of the AZYEP team.