Professional Experience

2021 - present: WINK News morning anchor
2019 - 2021: WINK News weekend anchor/reporter
2018 - 2019: WINK News reporter
Previously worked as a weekend anchor and reporter at KMIZ in Columbia, Missouri.

Awards and Recognition

2019 Suncoast Regional Emmy Award nomination for reporting on a "Bomb Squad Search at a Home in Cape Coral."
Two Heart of America Gold Awards from the Kansas City Press Club for a special report on "Surviving a Mass Shooting" and for several reports on human and sex trafficking in mid-Missouri.

News Philosophy

Be a voice for the voiceless.

Education

Ohio University, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism

Hometown

Canonsburg, PA

Hobbies and Interests & Community Involvement

I love soaking up the sun. You can find me relaxing at the beach or at the pool with a good murder mystery book. I enjoy working out and recently became a certified Les Mills Body Pump instructor. Being just a short flight away from so many beautiful countries and territories in the Caribbean, I love exploring new areas and cultures. Animals are my favorite. I am a volunteer at the Gulf Coast Humane Society and help other rescue organizations with events and fundraisers. I also volunteer with Best Buddies Southwest Florida and the Children's Advocacy Center.

Family and Pets

My husband and I are proud parents to two black cats named Isaac and Cleo.

Likes best about Southwest Florida:

The weather and beaches. We live where people vacation.

 

Jimmy Rodgers trial: Defense makes two requests for mistrial, both denied: Day 4

We could be seeing the groundwork laid for an appeals process in the Jimmy Rodgers trial for the murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers, if a conviction is made. The defense asked for a mistrial not once but twice Tuesday. Both times they argued prejudice against their client Jimmy Rodgers. Both times, those mistrial requests were […]

Investigators push for answers five years after 5-year-old’s murder

Five years ago, 5-year-old Andrew Faust Jr. was killed in a Dunbar drive-by shooting. And his killer has not been arrested. Fort Myers police say the shooting happened after someone fired into the courtyard of a duplex in the Dunbar area. WATCH the video above for the full story with WINK News Anchor-Reporter Taylor Petras. […]

Cape Coral community reacts to death investigation of 35-year-old neighbor

A bouquet of bright tulips now sits by the front door of the Cape Coral duplex where Kristine Melton’s body was found. It’s the center of the on-going death investigation. “Scary. It’s just scary,” said neighbor Debbie McCabe. Inside the home, police found 35-year-old Melton. McCabe said she was a very good neighbor and a […]

Bathroom Sign symbol illustration. (Credit: MGN)

Restroom rules at Lehigh Senior High School are causing controversy

What if you could go to the bathroom, only if you had someone go with you? That is the policy at Lehigh Senior High School. It leaves students waiting at their desk until a security guards shows up. Alexia Tatum said it is not fair that every time any student at Lehigh Senior High School […]

Teachers at a shooting range. (Credit: WINK News)

New law lets Hendry County teachers carry guns if they had training

A law enacted after the Parkland High School shooting in 2018 expands on Tuesday. Some teachers can now carry guns at Florida schools. Hendry County is the only school district in Southwest Florida where that can happen. Outside of all Hendry County school buildings, new fences are lining the property. While trained, armed school employees […]

Blake Grossi, former Lee County Sheriff's Office Deputy, elbows a 17-year-old. (Credit: WINK News)

LCSO deputy sentenced to one-year probation after elbowing a teen

A cop who lost his cool. An elbow to the head has cost former Lee County Deputy Blake Grossi his job and on Wednesday, and a battery conviction was put on his record. Former Lee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Blake Grossi, 26, apologized in court on Wednesday for a video showing him elbowing a teen […]

Limping bear seen struggling to roam in Golden Gate Estates. (Credit: WINK News)

Limping bear seen struggling to roam in Golden Gate Estates

Bear sightings aren’t new in Southwest Florida. But a homeowner spotted a bear limping through a yard in his Golden Gate Estates community. Larry Greenberg calls that Golden Gate Estates neighborhood for the last 20 years. Greenberg knows he shares the green space with plenty of four-legged creatures. “Seen a couple of porcupines, obviously lots […]

Firefighter rescues animal. (Credit: WINK News)

Jean struggles to contact missing family in the Bahamas after Dorian

A Dunbar man said his uncle and six other family members remain missing over two weeks after Hurricane Dorian ripped through the Bahamas. Now, he fears the worst. The colorful walls at Franklin Park Elementary School serve as a pleasant distraction for custodian Jean Claude Jean. The Haitian native has not heard from several of […]

Cape Coral to negotiate new contract with Waste Pro, neighbors split opinions

The City of Cape Coral agreed to negotiate a new contract to extend the services of Waste Pro USA, and the waste management service hopes to be picked up for another five years. This comes after the city received hundreds of neighbor complaints about the trash services in 2018. Still, there are neighbors in Cape […]