2009 Grants Awarded For Radio Projects
The KUOW Program Venture Fund has awarded grants to fund four new radio works. The diverse mix of projects includes series about human trafficking, immigration detention, Main Streets and a radio drama about cooking. The projects will be produced in 2009–2010 and air on KUOW.
Human Trafficking In Washington State 
Grantee: Sara Lerner
While human trafficking is often associated with the sex trade in foreign countries, the issue is a growing problem here in Puget Sound. But it goes far beyond prostitution. Local victims are also forced into domestic servitude and farm labor. This four–part series will look at the crisis of human trafficking in Western Washington and what the state is doing to address the problem.
Sara Lerner has worked for KUOW since 2005 as a producer, reporter and announcer. Sara hopes her job will continue to take her to unfamiliar places. And, she says, more than anything, she aims to continue telling stories, truthfully.
Between Worlds / Behind Bars
Grantee: The Common Language Project (Jessica Partnow, Sarah Stuteville and Alex Stonehill)
From the dark days of the Chinese Exclusion Act to post–911 policies on the incarceration of undocumented immigrants, immigration detention has a controversial history in both our nation and in the Puget Sound region. This five–part series will explore immigration detention from its roots in the 1930s at Seattle's "Ellis Island" in the International District to today's privately–run Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma's Tideflats.
Jessica Partnow, Alex Stonehill and Sarah Stuteville are producers for Seattle–based The Common Language Project, a nonprofit multimedia publishing house whose mission is to engage, educate and inform Americans of all ages on the crucial human issues of our time through innovative and accessible journalism.
Cookus Interruptus
Grantee: Megan Sukys
The Pacific Northwest is recognized internationally for its strong culture of eating locally and seasonally. In this humorous, five–episode radio drama, Seattle–based cookbook author and nutritionist Cynthia Lair stars as a mother who demonstrates how to prepare healthy, home–cooked meals while managing the constant interruptions and chaos of family life.
Megan Sukys has been with KUOW since 2000. She has 12 years experience in radio and a degree in theater. She has been cooking since she was four, when her grandmother taught her how to make biscuits. With two kids at home, Megan experiences the hassle of making a good meal despite life's interruptions on a daily basis.
To support KUOW's Program Venture Fund please contact Ian Carrick at 
or call 206.897.1488. Thank you for your interest and support.
