Professional Experience

July 2018 to present: Reporter, WINK News. Previously worked as a resident reporter at WVVA in Bluefield, W.Va.; at ABC 7 Chicago as a news planning intern; at Dateline NBC as a story development intern; and at the Northwestern University's Medill Justice Project as a multimedia investigative reporter.

Awards & Recognition

Hearst Foundation Journalism Award for Enterprise Reporting.

Assistant produced 2-hour, Dateline episode hosted by Keith Morrison, “At the Bottom of the Pool,” aired Oct. 13, 2017.

Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society - lifelong membership exclusively for students in top 10 percent of their graduating class in journalism programs across the country.

National QuestBridge Scholar - awarded to the country's most talented, determined, and self-motivated students from low-income populations who demonstrate outstanding academic ability despite financial challenges.

News Philosophy

We consume news when we are gripped by the emotions making us all human — these are the stories that knock us off our feet. Tell the stories not easily seen that must be experienced through the emotions we all feel.

Hobbies, Interests & Community Involvement

Running and cycling! I love all of the fitness-inspired events South West Florida holds to benefit others.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism, Magna Cum Laude.

Likes best about Southwest Florida

I am so grateful for the hundreds of days you can spend outdoors with friends and family.

Hometown 

Keystone Heights, Florida.

Vaccine appointment systems taking toll on Floridians

Governor Ron DeSantis and other state leaders continue telling people not to fear and that there are plenty of vaccines to go around. However, many of you are frustrated with the appointment systems and their nuances from county to county. You’re tired of calling and clicking only to not get a spot to get the […]

Lee County, Publix vaccine appointments filled within minutes

Once again, all available COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Lee County and through Publix were booked within minutes on Wednesday, leaving thousands to try again. Brian Douglas is one of them. He fired up his computer at 6 a.m. and went to Publix’s appointment website. “I got a message that said, you’re in the queue; then […]

Family of 99-year-old Lee County woman holds out hope for vaccine appointment

Nearly 6,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments will be available in Lee County this week. Appointments open Wednesday, and the process is so frustrating that one man was brought to tears. The first two times the county offered appointments, Leo Trudeau called 500 to 600 times, and he’ll be at it again Wednesday at 9 a.m. sharp […]

People mourn loss of those due to COVID-19, as US death toll nears 400K

The United States is fast approaching another staggering point in the pandemic. The coronavirus death toll will soon reach 400,000 people. Those are our family, friends and neighbors. We spoke to people who feel the losses deeply. Lately, many people’s lives revolve around avoiding death due to COVID-19. Kit Kerkesner won’t leave his home. His […]

Some with vaccine appointments turned away in Charlotte County

You get a coveted appointment slot for the COVID-19 vaccine only to show up at the site and be turned away. It’s just one of the many frustrations for some in Charlotte County. Charlotte County uses a website to register people for the vaccine, and when they opened up more appointments on Wednesday, the site […]

Lee County manager reflects on vaccine rollout, wishes better system in place

Vaccine distribution across distribution in Florida is off to a rocky start. Instead of Florida having a system in place across the board, the burden has fallen to counties to book appointments and distribute the vaccine. Sixty-seven different counties are targeting the issue with varied results. “There’s this from one-day-to-the-next balancing act, of getting appointments […]

Solution coming for botched vaccine rollout, Lee County manager says

Thousands of people in the community are outraged over the botched COVID-19 vaccine rollout, but a solution may be coming. Florida counties and at least one state lawmaker are pointing to failure at the top, so the state is responding to the criticism with a statewide system, according to Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais. The […]

More vaccine appointments being filled in Lee County

Those who have been waiting to find out if they make it into the next round of appointments in Lee County finally have an answer. Thousands called Monday when the county opened up its phone line, but not everyone heard back. Instead, if they didn’t get through to snag an appointment for this week, they […]

Commissioner promises changes coming to Lee County vaccine reservation system

As hundreds remain frustrated about not being able to get an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine, WINK News is pushing for answers. Many of you have called or emailed us after you couldn’t get through to Lee County. Commissioner Brian Hamman said late Wednesday that things must change, but he asked for patience, which is […]