KQED Arts and Culture desk brings daily, in-depth cultural commentary and coverage of the Bay Area with a mission to enrich lives and inspire participation.
Senior Editor, KQED Arts & Culture
Gabe Meline entered journalism at age 15 making photocopied zines, and has since earned awards from the Edward R. Murrow Awards, the Society for Professional Journalists, the Online Journalism Awards, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Prior to KQED, he was the editor of the North Bay Bohemian and a touring musician. He lives with his wife and daughter in his hometown of Santa Rosa, CA.
Food Editor
Luke Tsai is KQED's food editor and resident stinky tofu connoisseur. Prior to KQED, he was an editor at Eater SF, San Francisco magazine, and the East Bay Express, and his work has also appeared in TASTE, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Best Food Writing anthology. When he isn't writing or editing, you'll find him eating most everything he can get his hands on.
Editor and reporter
Nastia Voynovskaya is a reporter, editor and host at KQED Arts & Culture. She's been covering the arts in the Bay Area for over a decade, with a focus on music, queer culture, labor issues and grassroots organizing. She has edited KQED story series such as Trans Bay: A History of San Francisco's Gender-Diverse Community, and co-created KQED's Bay Area hip-hop history project, That's My Word. Nastia's work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and San Francisco Press Club. She regularly appears on podcasts and radio programs, including NPR's All Songs Considered, and hosts live events where music, culture and conversation meet.
Intern, KQED Arts & Culture
Nia Coats is KQED Arts & Culture's editorial intern. As a recent Berkeley School of Journalism graduate, she has covered arts and culture in the Bay Area and nationwide since 2021. She has a great love for music and the ways it soundtracks our lives. When she isn't reporting or writing, Nia is going to concerts, watching movies and working on her magazine, Lucky 7.
Food Reporter
Octavio Peña is a food journalist and recipe developer from San Jose, CA. His work has appeared in KQED, Eater SF, Serious Eats, NYT Cooking, and Food & Wine. In his free time, he enjoys walking his dogs, photographing his food, and playing MOBAs.
Community Engagement Reporter
Pendarvis Harshaw is an educator, host and writer with KQED Arts.
Senior Editor
Sarah Hotchkiss is a San Francisco artist and arts writer. In 2019, she received the Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Foundation grant for visual art journalism and in 2020 she received a Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California award for excellence in arts and culture reporting.
Engagement Producer, KQED Arts & Culture
Ugur Dursun is a reporter and audience engagement producer for KQED Arts. Previously, her reporting has appeared on SFGate, East Bay Times, The Mercury News, KTVU, NBC Bay Area, The Stanford Daily, and other Bay Area local news outlets. In 2023, she was a recipient of Online News Association's MJ Bear Fellowship, which honors six standout journalists under the age of 30 who are pushing innovation in digital news.
