Illinois-born and Ohio-raised Leslie Stoval’s Bay Area radio career began in the 1970s at KZSU, the student station at her alma mater, Stanford University. She broke ground with her first paying job, becoming the first female on-air talent at Columbus, OH station WVKO.
Stoval returned to the Bay Area in 1978 to join the staff at Berkeley’s KRE/KBLX, launching a nearly fifty-year career in which she would be heard in key roles on notable stations such as KMEL, KBLX, KDIA and KSOL. Her final stop in Bay Area radio was at KCSM, where she spent ten years producing and curating her own jazz show. Across her lengthy career, she was known for her engaging, vibrant and smooth presence on the air.
She provided a foster home to many cats, supported numerous Bay Area charities, and was a regular volunteer at her neighborhood library branch.
Leslie Stoval died in 2025 at the age of 70.