Our Board of Directors are volunteers who help steer our operations and support our vision.

Ben Leonard

Ben Leonard is the General Manager of WQSV. His relationship with the station began in February of 2018, as the host of the Astral Traveling show on Tuesday nights. Born and raised in Staunton, he cut his teeth in radio at WXJM in Harrisonburg before receiving his BA in Film Scoring from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Ben’s musical insights expanded from his years as an electric bass player in latin music ensembles, jazz combos, various rock and metal bands, and stints in the orchestra pit of the Heritage Repertory Theatre in Charlottesville. He has been working in the live events industry for the past fifteen years and his experiences with artists, venues, and festivals have underscored his belief in radio’s importance to connect people, businesses, and events. In his spare moments Ben can be found fueling his obsession with synthesizers and electronics. He lives in the Parkview neighborhood of Staunton with his wife, Heather, and their son.

Tony Davenport

Tony was born, raised, and currently lives in Staunton, Virginia. He spent ten years away from Staunton while he attended college at Virginia Tech and a brief stint living just outside the nation’s capital of Washington, D.C. before returning to the Valley. You can find him out and about enjoying the sights and sounds of the City with his wife, Amy Davenport and their three children. Tony is a lover of all things hip-hop, ’90s RnB/New Jack Swing, and D.C.’s Go-Go scene. He is the Roots’ #1 fan and he can be heard most nights arguing the group’s importance and influence to hip-hop music as a guest presenter on Ben Leonard’s WQSV radio show Astral Traveling. He is as passionate about serving his community as he is about music.

Theresa Hoffman

Theresa serves as the Treasurer for WQSV. It’s the perfect marriage of two major life influences: finances & radio. She works as a banker (First Bank) in Staunton by day, and spent her college years active with the student-run radio station of Marshall University, WMUL-FM. Theresa has an impeccable, yet eclectic taste in music, which has served her well in her radio career. (She’s certain that Johnny Cash is her spirit animal.) Theresa came home to the Shenandoah Valley in 2010, and lives in Waynesboro with her partner-in-crime, Lars, with whom she takes on adventures across the region.

Geoff Newton

Raised in the UK on a diet of Deep Purple and David Bowie, Geoff survived BritPop and had his musical coming-of-age in the Northern Soul nightclubs of Newcastle. Armed with a major in English, Geoff set out into the world to seek his fortune, and ended up in Staunton, Virginia, bringing his experience in photography, video production, media, and advertising to WQSV. He can often be seen around town being walked by his dog.

Lisa Otto

Lisa is the Secretary of WQSV. Originally from Crimora, VA, Lisa moved to the Queen City in 2013 and, along with her husband Jonathan, quickly embraced Staunton’s thriving Downtown music scene. A metalhead at heart, Lisa brings her intense love of live music and experience as concert staff at the Sprint Pavilion to WQSV. Lisa spends her free time traveling and haunting her favorite music venues, beer in hand.

Chuck Troutman

Chuck is a lifelong resident of the Shenandoah Valley. He’s been connected to public radio broadcasting for 20 years, starting at James Madison University in 1990 as an alt-rock DJ. His music stylings have run the spectrum from loud to folk. Being a Baby Boomer, Chuck has a analog heart and brings an “old school” perspective to the table. Chuck has lived in Staunton since 2012.

Tom DuMontier

Tom is the past General Manager of WQSV. Tom worked at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind in blind education for 12 years prior to dedicating himself to starting WQSV. He attends Emmanuel Episcopal Church and works with Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro Habitat for Humanity. He is madly in love with the Staunton community and local radio! Tom is a graduate of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he received a BA in Theatre. Tom lives near Gypsy Hill Park with his wife Nicole and two daughters.

Geoff Newton

Raised in the UK on a diet of Deep Purple and David Bowie, Geoff survived BritPop and had his musical coming-of-age in the Northern Soul nightclubs of Newcastle. Armed with a major in English, Geoff set out into the world to seek his fortune, and ended up in Staunton, Virginia, bringing his experience in photography, video production, media, and advertising to WQSV. He can often be seen around town being walked by his dog.

Courtney Cranor

Treasurer

Courtney first became involved with WQSV in 2015 giving the station business planning feedback and assisting with seed funding and mentorship through the Bright Rewired start-up competition. She’s been involved in alternative economic development, place-making efforts, and main street advocacy since moving from her hometown of Richmond to Staunton in 2007. She has had a lifelong obsession with music and one of these days, she’ll get back to conquering her fear of singing. In the meantime, historic renovations, playing in her half-built art studio, and exploring her foodie tendencies, always accompanied by a great playlist, keep her busy. She cannot wait to be out seeing live music again. Her show, Modern Lovers, explores what makes a song sound sexy.

Tom DuMontier

Tom is the past General Manager of WQSV. Tom worked at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind in blind education for 12 years prior to dedicating himself to starting WQSV. He attends Emmanuel Episcopal Church and works with Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro Habitat for Humanity. Tom is a graduate of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he received a BA in Theatre. Tom lives in Sewanee, TN with his wife Nicole and two daughters.

Johan
Westenburg

Johan started working in the business of art in New York and worked for Clara Sujo, the Pace Gallery, and Stux Modern before starting his own gallery in Great Barrington, MA. in 1994. Thirty years on, art — its movement and ability to transform people and communities — remains the core activity of his life. It is said, the best way to make a small fortune in the arts is to start with a large fortune, and Johan has been actively aspiring to that platitude for the better part of a lifetime; he lives with his partner Machteld in a gem of vernacular architecture cobbled together by Staunton legend Sam Gardner with bricks from the old Star Furniture Company.

Melissa Terry

Melissa arrived in Staunton around the same time that WQSV hit the airwaves back in early 2016. She moved from Atlanta, Georgia, where she was a radio producer with 90.1 WABE, the city’s beloved NPR affiliate. Joining the board during the 2020 pandemic, she’s eager for live music and travel to return — two things she loves and doesn’t feel are mutually exclusive. She’s seen Black Sabbath in Riga, Latvia; the Melvins in Buenos Aires; and Animal Collective in Santiago, Chile, just to name a few.