Professional Experience

September 2018 to present: Investigative Reporter at WINK News

Previously worked as a multimedia journalist at WCJB TV20 News, WUFT-TV and WUFT-FM in Gainesville, FL; and as an investigative intern at WPLG Local 10 News in Miami, FL

Member of National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)

Awards & Recognition

2019 Excellence in Broadcast News Award for Transportation / Traffic Series reporting, Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists (FABJ) – “Waiting in the Dark”

2019 NATAS Suncoast Regional Emmy Nomination for Education / Schools News reporting– “Waiting in the Dark”

2019 Young Journalist Award for Broadcast, Press Club of Southwest Florida

2019 Sunshine State Award for Multimedia Feature, Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) – “You Are Now Live” (2nd Place)

2019 Excellence in Innovation in TV, Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, RTDNA – “Locked Out Florida”

2018 Awards for Photo Essay & Short Hard News Feature, Florida Associated Press Broadcasters (now FABJ) College Contest

News Philosophy

“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” — Ida B. Wells

Hobbies, Interests & Community Involvement

Sara is a big fan of live theater and performing arts, traveling to faraway places, volunteering, playing roller derby, Gator football, spoiling her nieces and nephews, and cuddling up next to her dog Mickey.

Education

Master’s in Mass Communication and Bachelor’s in Telecommunication News from the University of Florida

Go Gators!

Florida unemployment rate heavily affecting SWFL, claimants remain frustrated

As expected, Florida’s unemployment rate skyrocketed in April to 12.9%. That was up about 8.5 percentage points from March. Much of Southwest Florida was hit harder than most of the rest of the state. Charlotte County is at 15.6% unemployment Lee County is at 14.6% unemployment Collier County is at 13.4% unemployment Hendry County is […]

Head of DEO ‘not aware’ of asking people to reapply for unemployment

WINK News has sent the state thousands of names of people who are still waiting for unemployment benefits or have unanswered questions and concerns, and some of you said Wednesday that you’ve gotten paid as a result. More than 7,300 names have been sent to the Department of Economic Opportunity and the office of Gov. […]

WINK News sends DEO, governor names of unpaid unemployment claimants

In less than 24 hours, thousands of you filled out our online form with your questions and concerns about unemployment, wondering if and when you’ll receive benefits. WINK News on Tuesday sent the first 5,000 names to the Department of Economic Opportunity and the governor’s office after Gov. Ron DeSantis challenged reporters to show him […]

DeSantis: Unpaid unemployment claimants have missing information on applications

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s claims dashboard said Friday that it now has paid more than 740,000 people a total of over $1.86 billion as of May 14. Gov. Ron DeSantis at his press conference on Friday said he’s glad money is going out the door. He told reporters the unemployment website was not […]

Call takers limited when trying to help unemployment applicants

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity claims dashboard now says that 95 percent of eligible claimants have been paid their unemployment benefits. However, many of you tell us you’re still waiting for those promised payments, and you still can’t log on to the website or get answers over the phone. Doug French said he has […]

DEO answers questions, confirms limiting users on unemployment site and how to end claims

Roughly 666,000 unemployment claims in Florida have been paid out since March, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s claims dashboard. That’s half of all claims submitted, and hundreds of thousands of people remain in the queue. The DEO confirmed with WINK News on Tuesday that it’s limiting the numbers of users allowed on the CONNECT website […]

Governor says he’ll check issues with unemployment hotline

We continue to report on updates about Florida’s unemployment system during the coronavirus pandemic as new information from the state becomes available. And we are continuing to ask the governor your questions. We pressed the governor again Monday about issues with the unemployment website. Over the weekend, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity website, CONNECT, […]

Lawyers file emergency injunction to get unemployed paid immediately

A day after a Florida circuit court judge dismissed a motion to get unemployment payments out faster, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said the fight isn’t over. They’ve come up with a new avenue, hoping to convince a new judge to get emergency relief to the unemployed immediately. Mike Barody is one of hundreds of thousands of […]

Judge dismisses motion for immediate payment of unemployment benefits

A plan to get people their much-needed unemployment benefits immediately has hit a snag. A judge on Wednesday sided with the state to dismiss an order asking for immediate payments to the unemployed. The Department of Economic Opportunity’s dashboard on Wednesday shows the state says it has paid roughly 43 percent of claims. A lot […]