You may hear her on JPR, on SOPBS or perhaps singing jazz at a winery

By Debora Gordon for Ashland.news

Vanessa Finney of Ashland is a news and music host and producer at Jefferson Public Radio. At JPR she also hosts the “My Better Half” podcast. At Southern Oregon PBS she produces an artist profile series, “The Work of Art.” As she puts it, Finney “talks for a living.”

She also sings in a jazz duo and trio at local cafes and wineries. Prior to her Ashland broadcast career, Finney had a long history of radio production and freelance writing, including an NPR station in Riverside, California, where she used to live. Finney moved to Ashland from Southern California in 2018, after growing up in Riverside and Big Bear Lake. 

“I’d been visiting my mom and brothers for 20 years, and I’m really happy to be living in downtown Ashland. I’m near my family. I like the culture here. I like JPR and PBS so much. It’s such a leap of faith when you move away from your home state at age 49. But, I feel like I’m in the right place and I’m contributing to my community.”

Finney earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature, including extensive study in foreign languages and music, at UCLA, where she was active in the UCLA Chorale. She completed a postgraduate certification in teaching creative writing in 2015 after obtaining a master’s in creative writing in 2004. She has a degree an MFA in nonfiction writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles, where was the student commencement speaker.

With over 20 years of experience as a singer, a writer and a multimedia producer, Finney has a passion for artistic storytelling. She is the local host for NPR’s “All Things Considered” on JPR and hosts a classical music segment called “First Concert” at JPR. Her podcast “My Better Half” explores the creative potential of our later years.

She said the podcast fulfills a goal she had held for a long time. “I’ve wanted to do something like ‘My Better Half’ since I was inspired by a coffee table book that I saw in my 20s about a collection of older women, who seemed very old to me at the time, talking about how it was great to be their age. I don’t know if it’s that I sensed I was going to be a late bloomer, but it just really rang for me. Next month, I’m interviewing a 59-year-old woman who just started weightlifting and she won the Oregon State title for her weight. That kind of thing inspires me.”

Finney cites a recent “My Better Half” episode featuring Lyn Slater, titled “How To Be Old: Lessons in Living Boldly; The Accidental Icon.” 

“In the conversation with Lyn, I said you’re making me really look forward to the rest of my life. I can’t wait to be 70.” Finney also is the producer of “The Work of Art,” profiling regional artists and arts organizations.

Finney’s extensive writing credits include radio, web and print, with a focus on copy and audio editing, research, interviewing and writing book reviews for the San Francisco Book Review and Publishers Weekly among others. She describes her mission as “using my voice and words to connect with diverse audiences and inspire curiosity, joy and learning.”

She added, “I have a long history of radio production and freelance writing, from when I was in California.” And she wrote a personal essay for Scuba Diving magazine. 

Finney also sings in a duet with guitarist and bassist, Mark Hamersly, at wineries and cafes throughout Southern Oregon, performing jazz and other classics from Europe and the Americas. Sometimes another musician joins in to make it a trio.

“When I moved up here in 2018, I put an ad on nextdoor.com saying I was looking to work with a guitarist and I’m looking for a composer to help me realize my songs, because I write lyrics and melody but I don’t write the music.”

She was introduced to Hamersly, and they have an album coming out soon.

“I’ve gotten to be a better performer because of my work with him. We work a lot as a duet, but we also bring our musician friends in and we did quintets recently, so it’s not just trios, it could be anything.”

Speaking of her life and career at this point, Finney said, “What stands out to me: Writing isn’t something I do anymore. It’s who I am. As an arts reporter, this is a new development, just starting. Because I’ve been missing writing. And this will allow me to start writing again. It’s a part of how I am and like that.”

You can hear Finney during the three spots in which Finney reports and announces the news, 4:04, 5:04 and 6:04 p.m. Monday through Friday, during “All Things Considered” on JPR.

Ashland Creatives features writers, artists, musicians, actors and other creatives who live in Ashland. Email Debora Gordon at [email protected] if you are a creative artist or would like to suggest someone to feature.

Debora Gordon is a writer, artist, educator and nonviolence activist who recently moved to Ashland from Oakland, California.

April 23: Spelling of Mark Hamersly’s name corrected.