Gianna Volpe Finds New Voice As 'Heart Of East End' Radio Host

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — Morning listeners to WPPB-FM Peconic Public Broadcasting have heard a new voice in recent months — and many have readily embraced the young woman they say brings a fresh vision and caring and empathetic heart to the radio show.

Gianna Volpe took the reins at WPPB after longtime host Bonnie Grice left in March. Volpe, a familiar face on both the South and North Forks, is also a prolific journalist.

For Volpe, the new gig symbolizes the most recent chapter in a journey that's been marked by fierce dedication and an indomitable spirit.

Volpe, who grew up in a small town in New Jersey along the Palisades, which stand across the Hudson River from New York City, received her bachelor's degree in journalism with an emphasis in photojournalism and minor in creative writing from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2010.

Dividing her time between Southold, Southampton and Riverhead, Volpe has been a familiar face on the East End canvas for years, working in a string of positions, all of which, she said, have paved the way for the “Heart of The East End” on 88.3 WPPB.

While she gained invaluable experience hosting “The Gianna Volpe Report,” which she produced on 1390 WRIV nearly every Thursday for four years, she said she also spent precious time getting to know the East End communities off-assignment tending bar at Tweed’s, a Mano, ALure, Noah’s, Claudio’s, Crabby Jerry’s, Michelangelo of Mattituck, Tony’s Asian Fusion North and East Quogue, Lucharitos, Little Lucharitos, Bay Breeze Bistro, Southampton and Sebonack golf clubs, theRIVERHEADPROJECT, Cuddy’s, Brewology, Basso, Waters Crest Winery, Grace & Grit and assorted private event companies, as well as briefly repping both Paumanok and Palmer wines — to name a few.

Her resume reflects the struggle many young professionals have trying to make ends meet on the East End.

"I have fought hard to live here as a single woman without family in the area," she said.

Once, Volpe said, she tended bar for six nights and did three double shifts at Tweed’s Restaurant & Buffalo Bar — where she is now found on Monday nights —while freelancing for multiple publications after her job ended at the Times/Review Newsgroup, for whom she was named a NYPA 'Rookie Reporter of the Year' reporting on crime, health, business, arts and more in 2012.

Since then, she's written and taken photographs for many other East End news outlets, including The Independent.

But seated behind the microphone at WPPB, Volpe is a young woman who's clearly found her place, confident and beaming as she chats easily with guests and pours her soul into creating innovate playlists.

She kicked off her current gig on March 26 with The Delfonics’ “Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From My Love)", and has been keeping the music vibrant and eclectic ever since.

For every obstacle she's faced, Volpe said there have been life lessons learned.

"As with most things in life, my challenges have proven their own reward in due time. It’s like that line in The Rolling Stones’ 'You Can’t Always Get What You Want,' because if you try sometimes, well, you might find you get what you need. Doing radio has been a long time coming for me. "

Looking back, Volpe said she once turned down an opportunity to get in on the ground floor at 103.9 because she hadn’t the time or knowledge of how to make a demo reel.

"I’d been approached about an opportunity at soon-to-become LI News Radio, but at the time, I was still too vulnerable to make the jump, as I was still pulling myself up by my bootstraps by tending bar, a skill I picked up while also functioning as security guard, manager and publicist of a popular bar/venue as a 19-year-old attending journalism school states away from family and friends," she said.

(Lisa Finn)

Volpe considers herself forever blessed that Bruce Tria at WRIV and Dr. Wally Smith at WPPB noticed the same quality in her as that a gentleman who stopped into Tweed’s in late 2013. She added that she remains "grateful for all opportunities afforded me."

When asked how it's felt, transitioning to her new on-air show, Volpe was candid.

"Saying good-bye to WRIV was harder than saying hello to WPPB, but struggling for so many years to be here and realizing I could continue my increasingly popular live-stream if I did — in fact, accept a night security position at Sebonack Golf club — made easier the choice to take that leap. And it was — no joke — moments after my decision to do so that I received the call about Bonnie’s imminent resignation. It felt right in my heart, being the next person to man that time slot, as I knew I’d do so with a pure heart, but I’d been disappointed by job politics enough times — and spent my teenage years flipping houses with my father — so I knew enough not to get too excited until I was sure I’d gotten the job."

Volpe needn't have worried: She's made a splash so far, and has fans far and wide. She's received many kinds notes of support about the programming she's doing on WPPB, which features local people from every corner of the East End, as well as a "thoughtful and eclectic playlist connecting music from all genres and decades of recorded sound with a unique literary connection," she said.

She's still trying to figure out the best way, she said, to make video work in a larger studio without the help of others. "That has been tough," she said. But watching Volpe at work on a recent Friday during her "Media Mavens" segment, it's not hard to believe that with her trademark ingenuity and ready smile, she'll have found a solution soon enough.

Volpe named her new show "Heart of the East End" and it reflects a sincere message that resonates.

"It’s a great fit for so many reasons. I think to be successful reporting on this region, one needs to actually care about it and the people who live here in a deep way, which I do, so it outs me as the type of journalist I never dreamed I’d become in j-school — a community journalist — while announcing the platform as one that seeks to be accessible, fun and compelling for all listeners/guests," she said.

When asked why radio is the perfect fit for her, Volpe brings introspective thought to her response.

"'Perfect' is a tough word. I’m far too critical a thinker to believe perfection is possible, but I still find myself striving for impossible standards and ideals all the time," she said. "It is all at once a character flaw, guilty pleasure and part of what has driven my success, as well as my professional development. I have a strong and unique voice, both vocally and as a writer, but I am also a quick thinker and natural performer, so doing radio is a natural medium for me."

She added that many who have told her that she'd be great on the radio have also said that television is where she really belongs. "But I feel like media companies/formats are converging all the time — and that thinking I’d need to leave my post here to make video is a silly notion. I could become an East End Joe Rogan if I am able to gather a small staff/structure," she said.

Having interviewed more than 500 guests on her two radio shows over the past five years, Volpe said she's learned something from them all.

"Some of my favorites have been Steph Paynes of Lez Zeppelin, who showed me how to handle misogyny with grace and dignity, photorealistic painter Charles Wildbank and Jovan Booker of the United States Amputee Soccer Team, both of whom embody the belief that the only limits in life are imposed on one’s self, and photographer Jeremy Garretson, who said he had taken a leap of faith adamant he’d build his parachute on the way down in opening his own photo studio at a time I was contemplating my own big leap in life."

Her dream interview? "Louis Moore Bacon, hands down. Mr. Bacon is notoriously press-shy and I specialize in helping people like him enjoy the interview experience. I am not a 'gotcha' journalist — I am very protective of my sources — so he has been my unicorn interview for years."

Looking ahead, Volpe said her vision for the radio station is a truly multimedia space East Enders can claim as their own. "I imagine a place that brings together the worlds of news, music, entertainment and art, not to mention that of food and drink. That would be glorious!" she said.

As a "total mom without kids and teacher without students," Volpe said she has long been compiling a mentor’s manual of advice because she loves guiding people toward a better tomorrow.

"For those with a dream: keep it alive!" she said. "You really can do anything to which you put your mind and work hard to achieve, so start small, but dream as big as you can and don’t abandon your goals just because of failures, whether perceived and actual, as failure is a cornerstone of success. There is no way around it. This is a time of incredible uncertainty and change, yes, so let’s adapt and overcome."

She also has a winning recipe for success: "Take baby steps, focus on what you love, appreciate what you have, make getting enough sleep a priority, put yourself first even if it feels unnatural, help others and learn how to ask for help, keep integrity sacred, keep friends close and enemies uninformed, tip well, smile wide, be kind, take risks, forgive yourself for — and learn from —mistakes, assume nothing, read everything, express gratitude, think/act as positively as you are able, compete only against who you were yesterday, imagine all things you say, text or write on social media will be read back to you in a court of law and before you go to bed, no matter how untrue it might feel, think this to yourself, 'I am happy. I am healthy. Something really cool is about to happen and I can’t wait to find out what it is!'"

As the next chapter unfolds, Volpe said she is working to create, on WPPB, a format that's inclusive, informative and interesting.

"I’ve gotten feedback from listeners as 'young' as 16 and as 'old' as 85 who have appreciated what they’ve heard on Heart of The East End. I put those words in quotes as I’m generally uncomfortable with terms that put people in a box. We are human beings — unique and ever-changing — and it is silly to assume we know another person. Knowing one’s self is a supreme enough challenge in this life."

As a writer, DJ, music lover and talented morning host, Volpe pauses when asked what best captures her essence.

"It’s true. I’m so multi-faceted that it is tough even for me to describe what or who the heck I am. I’d say I’m a pretty good egg, but maybe this question is better left for others to answer because I am probably biased. I’m certainly an entrepreneur."

By fifth grade, Volpe said she was already running several micro-businesses aimed at garnering enough money to buy ice cream during lunch. She hadn’t yet monetized her writing endeavors, she said, adding that she offered a free editing service to peers that year, read her first novella to my classmates after pitching the prose to teachers on a class trip, and wrote, printed and distributed 'The 5th Grade Times,' which was taken by the principal.

An official school-sanctioned paper was put together shortly thereafter, she said, but she was not asked to be on staff, so she began producing poetry and wrote her first children’s book.

"I’m an artist at heart, but am best at the art of observation. I should have been a detective. I am a lover of truth, justice, nature, music, art, efficiency, accountability, boundaries, people and growth. I have always been a leader, investigator and agent of change. I know I am generally misunderstood, but I try not to mind much. People tend to fear what they don’t understand. It is natural," she said.

Quoting Ole Golly in "Harriet The Spy," Volpe said: "'You know what? You're an individual, and that makes people nervous. And it's gonna keep making people nervous for the rest of your life.'"

Volpe said it's impossible to express in words the gratitude she feels for her supporters and friends on the East End. "If it were not for them, I simply would not be here."

She invited listeners and readers to direct any message they wished to share, whether criticism or encouragement, to email her at Gianna@883wppb.org or mail her at P.O. Box 1101, Mattituck, NY, 11952.

Gianna Volpe can be heard weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon on 88.3 WPPB FM; the program streams online at 883wppb.org.