Hey, I’m Brendan. I was born and raised in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. However, from an early age, I considered myself more a resident of the larger Roaring Fork Valley area.

After a weeklong internship at Carbondale’s public access radio station KDNK during my 8th-grade year at Carbondale Community School, I fell in love with the idea of being a radio DJ. The funky, eclectic, and independent nature of KDNK was wildly intriguing to my young mind.

A few years later, while attending Yampah Mountain High School, I discovered the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment program. I was thrilled at the opportunity to produce music shows, interview musicians, and build relationships with many other young, like-minded students. My time in the program was highly instrumental in developing my sense of identity and confidence. After high school, I attended the Colorado Film School and then settled into the front-range area.

In 2021, I made the decision to return home to the RFV. Soon, through organic connection, I found myself back at KDNK working as a broadcast instructor for AZYEP. My work with the kids lit me up in a way that nothing previously had, and I was immensely grateful to be doing work of deep purpose and giving back to the community.

As the current leader of AZYEP, I am committed to leading the organization into its next chapter of growth and service, and I am supported by an amazing team of passionately driven humans. Collectively, we are committed to empowering local youth through public broadcast, and so much more.

Paige lives in Marble with her partner and their dog and loves working for AZYEP part time as a broadcast instructor. She is also a student studying Sociology and Communication while getting very excited about Systems Thinking. The thing that she enjoys most about AZYEP is having been able to see the positive impacts it’s had on the lives of our students over the last eight years.

Adele Craft is a passionate educator and enjoys working on youth programming in her role as Program Manager at AZYEP. She holds a Bachelor’s in Sustainability Studies from Colorado Mountain College and a Master’s in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology from the University of East London. Adele enjoys combining her passions for education, environmental sustainability, and mental health through her work with AZYEP. She has enjoyed working on mental health initiatives with AZYEP including spearheading the Reconnecting with Conversation roundtable series, creation of a mental health public service announcement curriculum for schools, and participating in podcast collaborations. 

Adele has participated in AZYEP programming starting at the age of 11. She visited the KDNK studio with her girl scout troop in 2010 and was immediately hooked. Through middle school and high school, she had a weekly jazz radio show and produced a variety of public affairs programs showcasing youth and adult voices in the Roaring Fork Valley. In high school, she was an intern and peer mentor for younger kids in the program. In 2021, she joined the team as Program Manager. Adele is extremely grateful to be a part of the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program. She believes that radio has the power to transform the lives of young adults. When you put a kid in front of a microphone, they come alive and are given the gift of having a valued voice in the community. She saw this firsthand as a participant in the program and is honored to share the magic of radio with young people in our community. 

In addition to working with AZYEP, Adele teaches psychology as an adjunct faculty member at Colorado Mountain College and is the founder of Crafted Wellbeing, offering facilitated wellbeing workshops utilizing the restorative powers of art and nature. In her free time, Adele enjoys spending time outdoors, making watercolor and mosaic art, traveling, building community, and hosting dinners for friends and family.

Parker Wilson is a 6th generation Colorado native and has lived in the valley all her life. She graduated from Glenwood Springs High School and has been a part of the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program since she was 13 years old as a youth DJ, AZYEP intern, and host of a public affairs show.

Parker has always had a deep love for music and film, and loves to express herself through radio.

As the newest member of the AZYEP team, Parker hopes to give back to the community what the program has given to her; a voice loud enough to be heard. She believes that with a little confidence boost, anyone can share their voices and their personalities.

Rainy is a Colorado Animal Rescue alumni who became part of the AZYEP family in 2020. She enjoys spending time at the radio station, attending staff meetings, and doesn’t mind when a group of students snuggles up with her.

As a registered therapy dog, Rainy also loves volunteering at Valley View Hospital and participating in Paws to Read with Heeling Partners, a local therapy dog organization.

She’s a fan of milk bones and her best stuffed friend, Ronny the Triceratops. Rainy enjoys visiting local dog parks, hiking, rafting, skiing, listening to kids read, and taking naps. Above all, she is a loyal friend who loves everyone.

Saffron (Saff) Branson is a student at Colorado Mountain College pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Human Services. She grew up summering in Marble, where her parents are instructors for the Marble/marble Stone Carving Symposium. The call of the mountains won in 2018 and she moved here full time. She worked as a paraeducator for Riverview School until 2023 and is excited to return to working with youth. As the newest member of the AZYEP team, she is excited to be part of giving gleeful license to kids to express their brilliant selves to the world.

When not discovering the mysterious world of radio, Saff nerds it up playing tabletop roleplaying and video games, reading, sending postcards, and starting exciting new craft projects. She is a proud parent to one human adult, a dog, a cat, and six hermit crabs.