Meet the Producers, Hosts & Talents.

On this section of our web site we will introduce our talented Television Shows and Documentaries as well as WCNY-FM radio producers and hosts.

Liz Ayers

Vice President, Television and Media Services

Liz Ayers is a well-known award-winning Syracuse journalist who joined WCNY IN 2005. The catalyst behind her move was the opportunity to develop quality local, statewide and national programming.

Over the past year, Liz has served as the Executive Producer of The Performers, an agricultural documentary currently airing statewide on WCNY ThinkBright-TV. She is now shooting another documentary about the modern-day Erie Canal system to premiere in November. Before joining WCNY, Liz was employed at WTVH-TV, Syracuse , for 19 years where she helped her station win two Emmy awards. Prior to that, she worked at television stations in Wisconsin , Florida and Oklahoma .

During her illustrious professional career, Liz has been recognized with several honors and achievements including the 2003 Press Club’s Career Achievement Award and a place on their Wall of Distinction. She was also named Communicator of the Year, received the Role Model Award from Girls Incorporated, and named a Women of Courage by the City of Syracuse .

Liz is also married and has two wonderful children. Eva is the High School Principal at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, and Tanner volunteers his time as an Art Assistant at Jowonio School in Syracuse .


 

George Kilpatrick

WCNY Director of Community Affairs

Success and achievement are the hallmarks of George Kilpatrick’s media career, but not in the way you might expect. Throughout his work as a producer, host, creator and writer in the fields of radio, television, and documentary film-making, his mission has remained consistent – to uplift his listeners/viewers and inspire them to achieve their own measure of success. Kilpatrick’s intent is to boost those who are looking to mirror their own lives but rarely see the media reflect back images of success in the African American community and other communities of color. And his actions play out that intent as he continues to expand his influence through ongoing television, radio, and film projects.

Kilpatrick’s own reach is extensive, in not only his own community but also the world beyond. Kilpatrick is the host of his own daily talk show Food For Thought with George Kilpatrick, which features a culinary conversational feast mixing talk and food connecting people to their community. This show was nominated for an award in the television show category by the Upper State Independent Awards Show as a tribute to a diverse genre of musicians and artists.

As producer/host of the daily live midday television talk show, Hour CNY on PBS affiliate WCNY-TV in Syracuse , NY , Kilpatrick interviews the movers and shakers of the Central New York region covering a 19-county area. He is also producer/host of the award-winning series, Access with George Kilpatrick, which provides a forum for voices underrepresented in the media; a special seven-part spin-off of the series, Facing Racism: A Special Access with George Kilpatrick earned Kilpatrick the 2005 Award for Outstanding Contribution from the Human Rights Commission. He has also received the New York State Department of Health Commissioners Distinguished Service Award for the WCNY-produced documentary Facing AIDS and HIV in Central New York . This documentary also received the 2007 Silver Telly Award, a national recognition.

Kilpatrick also produces WCNY’s weekly public affairs program, Central Issues, and serves as the station’s Director of Community Affairs.

Kilpatrick is equally well-represented on the airwaves of commercial radio in Central New York through his work on Clear Channel affiliate stations. As producer and host of The George Kilpatrick Show and host of Dr. On-Call on WSYR-AM, he shares perspectives on a variety of local, regional and national issues, and provides health information and wellness education. His latest endeavor, New Inspiration for the Nation on WPHR-FM brings Kilpatrick’s mission front and center as he talks with nationally-recognized guests such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about success, motivation, and positive role models within the African American community. Kilpatrick serves as host, producer and creator of New Inspiration which celebrated its first anniversary last fall.

In 2005, Kilpatrick extended his reach into documentary film-making with the world premiere of Freedom’s Call, a look back at the civil rights movement through the experiences of two prominent African American journalists who covered the movement’s pivotal events. Kilpatrick served as one of the documentary’s featured subjects and was part of the production team that envisioned the project.

As a public speaker, master of ceremonies, expert motivator and practiced facilitator, Kilpatrick adroitly handles a wide range of topics and subject matter, including diversity, community-building, entrepreneurship, media influences, and personal growth. He speaks from the heart with candor and empathy, and skillfully balances the intellectual with the emotional. Often described as “the male Oprah WInfrey,” Kilpatrick wins over audiences with his humor, sympathy, personal integrity, passion, and commitment.

Chris Xaver

Food for Thought Co-Host

Chris Xaveris program chair of Communications and Media Arts at Tompkins Cortland Community College (one of 64 colleges in the SUNY system) in Dryden, NY. In addition to co-hosting Food For Thought, Chris has worked as a reporter and anchor in both television and radio. She still fills in as a morning radio news anchor for several radio stations more than 10 weeks a year to keep her skills sharp and her finger on the pulse of what is happening in the industry.

Chris is a StrengthsQuest trainer with the Gallup Organization and has embraced a strengths-based approach to teaching and leading. She received her B.S in broadcast journalism, cum laude, from the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications and her M.A. in political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University.

Chris just finished her doctorate in higher education leadership at Capella University. Her dissertation is entitled: EXPLORING STRENGTHS-BASED LEADERSHIP IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY.

Dan Cummings

Central Issues Host

One of the area’s best and most experienced reporters, Dan Cummings was born and raised in southern Cayuga County. A graduate of SUNY Geneseo and Cornell University, Cummings co-anchors NewsChannel 9 at 5:00 and hosts Central Issues on WCNY TV24 and NewsChannel 9. He has twice been honored with the Syracuse Press Club’s Professional Standards Award, along with numerous other awards during his 32 years in radio and television news around Central New York.