Journalist
the last decade
After I graduated from Boston University with a broadcast journalism degree in 2011, I moved back into my old bedroom in the basement of my parent’s house in suburban New Jersey where I spent the next couple of months sending my resume and reel to dozens of local TV news stations across the country. Eventually, a news director at one of the three local news stations in Northwest Arkansas offered me my first producing job. I’d be working from midnight to 8 a.m. on the morning show and she wanted me in the office a week later, but I convinced her to give me two.
It was early August when my mom and I fit what we could into her car and made the 20 hour drive to Fayetteville, a city in a state I had never thought about, let alone visited. I planned to stay two years before I moved on to what I believed would be bigger and better things, but life and the Ozark Mountains had other plans. I stayed through the rest of my 20s and into my early 30s and this place and its people ended up shaping me into the journalist I am today.
After 40/29 News, I became a producer and then assignment manager at 5NEWS, but the whole time I imagined myself working for the local NPR station. When I was at a crossroads in 2017, I finally got my chance and became a reporter for Ozarks at Large on KUAF 91.3. Most of the selection of stories below is from my four years on the radio, which is where I found my journalistic voice and sense of purpose.
Ozarks at Large Reporting for KUAF 91.3
COVID-19 Pandemic Reporting // Policing, Racial Justice & Diversity // Development, Housing & Homelessness
Local, State & National Politics // Environment // Other News Reporting // Feature Stories // Mountain Biking
COVID-19 Pandemic Reporting
Washington County Officials Remain Divided on Best Use of $4.5 Million CARES Act Reimbursement
As Pandemic Delays Jury Trials Until May, Defendants and Victims Await Justice
As Pandemic Necessitates Virtual Learning For Some, Others Have Been Choosing It for Years
Parents and Teachers Concerned About Student Mental Health During Pandemic
Renters, Advocates Demand Action From Governor As Congress Hashes Out New Aid Package
Pulmonary Critical Care Physician First to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine at Mercy NWA
Poultry Workers Stage Walkout to Protest Working Conditions During Pandemic
Cherokee Nation Chief Says Robust Healthcare System, Quick Action Key to Controlling Virus Spread
Traveling ICU Nurse Discusses Emotional Toll of Caring for COVID-19 Patients
As Assistance Applications Pour In, Some Landlords Refuse Terms, Deny Aid to Renters
Number of Working Women Drops to Levels Not Seen Since 1988
County Coroner Discusses Responding to COVID-19 Deaths for Last Eight Months
New Headstones Mark Pandemic's Devastating Legacy in Marshallese Community
Renters Face Eviction After Losing Income Due to COVID-19
CDC Eviction Moratorium Could Help Some Renters, but Many Don't Know About It
As Some Teachers Return to Classrooms With Excitement, Others Choose Retirement
Health Department, Latino Community Leaders Discuss Next Steps Following CDC Visit
CDC Team Leader Discusses COVID-19 Mission in Northwest Arkansas
Community Activists Call for Action From Governor As Latinx Coronavirus Cases Skyrocket
FDA Approves Experimental COVID-19 Plasma Therapy Program in Arkansas
Business Owners, Bankers Navigate Ins and Outs of Paycheck Protection Program
Arrests, Inmate Counts Drop As Authorities Adjust Operations During Outbreak
Makers, Small Manufacturers Innovate Protective Equipment Solutions to Ease Shortage
Pandemic Prompts Bread Baking Boom
Fayetteville Residents Quarantined Once Before 100 Years Ago
In 2020, I fulfilled one of my personal goals as a reporter for KUAF 91.3 and filed a story with NPR about the surge of COVID-19 infections in the Latino and Marshallese communities in Northwest Arkansas.
I have also filed several news spots for NPR’s hourly newscasts about the state of the coronavirus pandemic in Arkansas, a poultry worker walkout to protest working conditions, and the arrest of a Northwest Arkansas man in connection to a viral photo from the January 6th attack at the U.S. Capitol.
Stop Asian Hate Vigil Held in Bentonville After Fire Captain Is Accused of Assaulting Asian Man
Students Renew Call for U of A To Remove Fulbright, Brough Names From Campus
Bentonville Police Chief Stands With Peaceful Protesters, Discusses Clashes at Previous Rally
Bentonville Protest Begins Peacefully, Ends With Tear Gas
Washington County Sheriff Responds to 287(g) Protests
NWA Honors Slain Fayetteville Officer During Candlelight Vigil
UAFS Promises to Do Better Following Racism Allegations Against Coach
Sheriff Says Jail Expansion is Needed, But Opposition Mounts
Sebastian County Opens First Crisis Stabilization Unit in Arkansas
The History of Bentonville's Confederate Monument as Some Call for Its Removal
NWA Council Launches Workforce Housing Center To Address Growing Affordability Challenges
As Northwest Arkansas Home Prices Skyrocket, Some Homebuyers Can't Compete
Eureka Springs Health Clinic Unveils First Round of Low-Income Homes
Fayetteville Considers Parking Lot's Future
Skilled Labor Shortage Puts Damper on Building Boom
Proposed Markham Hill Development Moves Forward as Neighbors Petition to Stop It
Homelessness Organizations Mobilize as U of A Prepares to Clear Encampment
Fort Smith Housing Authority Stands Out as Public-Sector Innovator
National Nonprofit Begins Discussion About Affordable Artist Housing in NWA
Cooperation and New Ideas Fuel Northwest Arkansas' Downtown Renaissance
Cyclists Call for Boycott, Change of Venue After Arkansas Passes Anti-Trans Legislation
State's First Openly Transgender Elected Official Meets With Governor To Discuss SAFE Act
Runoff Elections Expand Diversity of Government Leadership in NWA
Springdale Candidate Makes History, Becomes First Person of Color Elected to City Council
Candidates of Color Vie for City Council Seats in Diversifying Springdale
Bernie Sanders Calls for Minimum Wage Hike at Walmart Shareholders Meeting
Unusually Numerous Group of Democrats Makes a Run for It in Benton County
Bentonville Students Hold Walkout Despite School Board Decision
Clarksville Superintendent Discusses Gun-Protected Schools After Arming Staff Five Years Ago
Sen. Tom Cotton Faces Angry Constituents During Town Hall
Quarter Century After Arkansas Eagle Deaths, Researchers Identify Killer
Once Abundant, Ozark Chinquapins Vanish From Land, Fade From Memory
Bella Vista Explores Options for Extinguishing Underground Fire
As CWD Spreads, Researchers Talk Management, Consumption Concerns
Quapaw Tribe Hopeful for Continued EPA Funding to Remediate Picher Superfund Site
Arkansas Schools Go Solar To Make Room in Their Budgets for Other Needs
After Bracing for Winter Storms, Arkansans Now Brace for Upcoming Utility Bills
Mayor Responds to Gravette Man Photographed in Speaker Pelosi's Office
Plans Unveiled for Park That Will Be Home to Bentonville's Confederate Statue
Fire at Bentonville Manufacturing Plant Under Investigation
U.S. Marshals Museum Building, Hall of Honor Unveiled During Dedication Ceremony
Volunteers Play Crucial Role in Flood Recovery Efforts
River Valley Faces Long Recovery Following Days of Flooding
As Local Restaurants Ditch the Straw, Disability Advocates Want in on the Conversation
Ponca Residents Concerned About Increasing Semi Wrecks as GPS Takes Drivers Down Highway 43
Arkansas AIDS Activist Discusses Newly Released Memoir
Yarn Bomb Marks Maxine's 70th Anniversary as Bar Closes Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
As Plant-Based Eating Booms, Restaurants and Retailers Get on Board
Cat Rescue and UAFS Team Up to Count Fort Smith's Stray Felines
Sewing Classes Aim to Lay Groundwork for Micro Batch Clothing Economy
Hundreds of Artifacts Found at Historic Hotel
Cherokee Nation Searches for Mid-19th Century Boundary Markers
Fort Smith Medical College Plans Garden to Honor Body Donors
Historical Society Works to Preserve Civil War Battlefield in Greenwood
Aviation Enthusiasts Aim to Make Recreational Flying an Ozark Pastime
Volunteers Take on Cleanup and Restoration of Fayetteville's East Mountain Cemetery
U of A Preserves Fay Jones' Home in Real and Virtual Worlds
When 'True Detective' Comes Calling
Hundreds of Climbers Go to Hell and Back
Historic Cane Hill Mill Wheel Taken Down for Restoration