By Carrie Martin
Heather Bass is somewhat of a celebrity around the Laboratory. Formerly known as Heather Quarterman, you may remember her as the popular radio personality, “Heather”, on 101.7 KKIQ’s “Hometown Morning Show with Wayne, Heather and Don.”
Livermore roots
Bass, Food Services administrator at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and self-described “Livermore-on,” knew early on that she wanted to be a reporter of some kind, either on television or radio. She is a third-generation local girl, having grown up in Livermore and attended Jackson Avenue Elementary, East Avenue Middle School and graduated from Livermore High. Her dad, Fred Quarterman, was a Granada High School grad and taught in the Livermore School District for more than 30 years. Her grandfather, Edward Quarterman, once taught members of the military how to fly back when LLNL was a naval air base.
“My grandfather served in World War II and actually built a working bomb shelter on his property in Livermore,” she said. “I have many fond memories playing in it as a kid. It also was a favorite spot to store wine as the temperature never changed due to how deep the shelter was constructed. It’s long gone now, and beautiful homes reside on top of it.”
The road to radio
When Bass was a teenager, she did some print shoot modeling and met someone who offered her some good advice.
“The modeling was not like Cindy Crawford or the supermodel type of modeling,” Bass said. “Think ‘Supercuts,’ hair magazines and up-and-coming designer fashion shows. When I was at a show in Los Angeles, I met this woman who explained to me the importance of expanding my talents and not rely on just one thing. After that, I worked on public speaking and reading clearly for voiceover work: things that would help me succeed when age started to creep up on me.”
After high school, Bass attended the University of California, San Diego and received a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2002. She also spent six months studying Shakespeare and British history at Cambridge University.
“Studying abroad was a fantastic experience,” Bass said.
While still in San Diego, Bass got an internship at the local Fox affiliate, which helped her get her first production gig with KUSI News. Television production turned into another job with 91X, an alternative rock station also in San Diego, and it was there that Bass found her love of radio. In 2006, Bass got a job working for local Bay Area radio station KKIQ, 101.7.
“After working for the station for a short time, the production staff quickly realized I had a good speaking voice and quick wit and within a year, I was asked to join the KKIQ Hometown Morning Show,” Bass said. “It was truly being in the right place at the right time.”
Morning DJs are well-known and often maintain a celebrity status, but for Bass, she didn’t let it consume her.
“For me, it was for the love of the game. I am very customer-service savvy, and the ‘fame’ was never something I took for granted. I just like people. It was a pleasure talking to different listeners and taking pictures, but my role was to inform and entertain, not to be like, ‘oh look at me’” she said. “When I was on-air and speaking, it was for a purpose, whether that was highlighting various restaurants in the ‘KKIQ Guide to Good Eats,’ talking about local events or interviewing various celebrities during the morning show.”
Bass said her cohosts, Wayne and Don, were a lot of fun to work with, but they were as different as night and day.
“Don, a decades long radio veteran, was smiling even at 4 a.m. when we checked in for the morning. Wayne took an hour or so to get into the routine. Both were incredibly knowledgeable and fantastic people to learn from,” she said. “Wayne was the one with all the celebrity connections and managed to get some really neat stars to call in or stop by. Aisha Tyler of Archer fame and Jennifer Coolidge from Legally Blonde were two of my favorite guests. The Wayans brothers were hilarious in-person too.”
In her six years on-air with KKIQ, Bass had many fond moments but one stuck out above all others.
“My absolute favorite experience was when Joey McIntyre from the 90s boy band New Kids on the Block called in and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. If I sit quietly, I can still hear my inner-teen squealing with excitement,” she said. “My favorite part of being a DJ in general was being able to come up with witty entertainment on the fly during live breaks. Many don’t know we DJs don’t get to pick the music we play. It’s determined by a person who is called a programming director and they really have the power over the tunes. It was up to us on-air staff to chat quickly, but effectively in between songs and that was a super fun challenge for me.”
Life at the Lab
Bass’ time at KKIQ came to a close in 2014 with the birth of her first daughter. After leaving the radio industry and focusing on family for a while, she joined LLNL in April of 2017 first as an administrator in Computing, then in the Weapons Complex Integration Directorate, and now in Food Services within the Operations and Business Directorate. In her current role, Bass handles the overall well-being of the two cafeterias onsite. Even though her main role is in Food Services, her talents are still called upon. She has been able to lend her voice to the Technical Information Department at LLNL, doing voiceovers.
“Thankfully, one of my LLNL colleagues mentioned to the Lab’s Technical Information Department that I can voice videos and so they call me on occasion to narrate various science projects. I feel like it still taps into my true love of the art of broadcasting,” she said.
While much different from working as on-air talent at a radio station, Bass is happy to be at the Laboratory.
“I love to learn about the different things we do here at the Lab,” Bass said. “I find my position to be rewarding in that I know my role, but still have a web of opportunities that I enjoy doing. For example, pre-COVID I helped emcee the ‘Backpacks for Vets’ fundraiser, the production work with TID of course, and all sorts of, ‘hey can you help me with this or that’ tasks that keep me on my toes. I really enjoy the variety.”
Bass said that her past experience in radio has really helped her in her role at the Lab, especially with public speaking, creative writing and public relations.
“When you’re face-to-face with members of NNSA headquarters, you need to be on top of your game,” she said.
While Bass has many happy memories and gained valuable experience in her time as a radio host, she is happy to have transitioned her career to the Lab. Through her ascent at LLNL, she met her now-husband Ned and had another daughter. “I have so much to be grateful for both personally and professionally here. While my talents do not extend beyond the gates anymore, I do have a dream of doing my own production, conducting interviews with people’s loved ones and capturing interesting life memories that might not pass on through diaries or stories. Perhaps it’s a pipe dream, but they say anything is possible.”
