We were lucky to catch up with Iris Berkeley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Iris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

It seems like there are two big camps in the “how to hone your craft” question: Dive in headfirst and try to make your living from the beginning, or take your time as a side hustle and see where it goes. I studied both music and journalism in college — probably about the most appropriate thing one could do in order to go into a career in radio and DJ events — but it wasn’t until years later that I really felt like I was ready to take the plunge and make it my day-to-day life. Honestly, though, I wouldn’t have had it any other way! All of the “random” professional experience I gained over my years of doing music and radio on the side has, honestly, made a huge impact on how I do what I do. My years working in marketing and design helped prep me for getting the word out creatively about what I do; my time as a manager in UX organizations has directly impacted how Radio 1190 operates in the day-to-day; and, even though I’m a little older than I might like to be (who isn’t?), I was able to develop my craft at a pace and with enough fun and meaningful detours to make where I am today really feel like a joy. After all, as creatives, we’re never going to be able to help it — we’ll add that extra sparkle to whatever we do, and learn from it all along the way!

Iris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the general manager of KVCU Radio 1190, the University of Colorado Boulder’s student radio station. Radio 1190 is home to more than 70 student and community DJs hand-picking music from across the entire genre spectrum, plus an award-winning student news team reporting on campus and community issues five days a week. We’re on the air 24/7/365, commercial-free, and supported by our listeners, generous donors, and the university — something that’s increasingly rare in a world of big, AI-powered corporate media. You can learn more, including all the ways to tune in from anywhere worldwide, at https://1190.radio.

I re-joined the station as manager in 2024 after getting my very first start in radio there, all the way back in 1998! Since then, I’ve been an on-air and event DJ for broadcast/internet stations and events all over, including creating the sound for London’s Denmark Street Radio, playing music for tango festivals across the Americas, and producing and hosting Modern Jetset, a weekly syndicated music discovery show airing on nearly 60 stations worldwide. Closer to home, I spin vinyl at events and club nights along Colorado’s Front Range, appear regularly as a show host on KGNU Community Radio in Boulder, and am a two-time winner of Denver Westword’s readers’ choice competition for Best Radio DJ in their annual Best of Denver.

I’m always posting pictures of my latest record store finds (and my cats, Stella and Nix) on Instagram — so please say hi at @irisberkeley, or follow along with the latest at Radio 1190 over at @radio1190! I’m so proud of our “little station that could” and the amazing team of students and volunteers who help bring new, underrepresented, and just plain fantastic content to ears across the Front Range and all over the globe. Music is such a healing and unifying force, and being here to work with the next generation of voices on our collective airwaves is something I wouldn’t trade for the world.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best way we can support artists and creatives is to celebrate that we all have that creative potential within us, and that creativity — no matter what form it takes — is essential to human happiness! We may not all play a musical instrument — but we can all hand-craft a beautiful playlist to present and elevate others’ musical skills, and make people happy along the way. We may not all have experience painting a work of art, crafting a piece of jewelry, or writing a novel … but we can support those who do, and enjoy every page of that novel we bought at the local book shop or sparkle from the bracelet we found at an artists’ co-op. Even when we don’t have the time or experience to contribute directly to the creative ecosystem, we can savor the joy of supporting our friends, neighbors, and peers who do. Art doesn’t need to be expensive (after all, the creativity our students share on Radio 1190 is free for everyone to enjoy!) and the joy it provides is priceless.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

One of the things I did in a “previous life” working in business was a several-year stint as a professional social media marketer, and if there’s one persistent lesson I’ve learned in an ever-changing social landscape (app of the week, anyone?) it’s that your joy, your love, and your quirks shine through to your socials if you do it well — and that’s priceless. Today’s social media landscape is so much glitz and glamour, so much sizzle but no steak, that it’s almost pointless to try to compete at that level of polish — just be yourself. If it’s rough around the edges, so what? It’s far more powerful to be real, and share content of value, than contribute to some unrealistic, ever-escalating aesthetic. Your fans, friends and clients will remember you for the realness of what you put out there … not the gloss.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://1190.radio and https://irisberkeley.com
• Instagram: @radio1190 and @irisberkeley

Image Credits

Main photo credit: Sarah Chesnutt