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.

 

Married snake wranglers remove 2 rattlesnakes from Estero front yard

  One homeowner living in Estero’s Stoneybrook community found a pair of huge rattlesnakes this week, and a married duo of snake wranglers had to take them away. Taylor and Rhett Stanberry, who in December caught an albino boa constrictor in Naples, went out to remove the eastern diamondbacks, a species of rattlesnake not uncommon […]

85-year-old determined to rebuild south Fort Myers home damaged by Ian

After the devastation left behind by Hurricane Ian, many in Southwest Florida were faced with the difficult decision of packing up and leaving or staying behind to rebuild. It was a dramatic fork in the road from a simple this-or-that choice, no matter how old you are. When WINK News first walked into Paul Riederer […]

Dogs featured on Pet Pals spending holidays with new SWFL families

  Throughout 2022, WINK News featured nearly two dozen adoptable pets during its Pet Pals segment during morning broadcasts, and many found their forever homes shortly after. WINK caught up with the new families of two such dogs who will be spending their first Christmas together. Nine-year-old dog Bear was featured on Pet Pals in […]

Firefighters, part-time residents describe rescues, repairs on Sanibel

Most of Sanibel is still unrecognizable one month after Hurricane Ian. The former vacation destination once filled with tourists and snowbirds is now awash with workers, like the firefighters who have been busy there since the first evacuations. Sanibel firefighters tried to return later the same night they evacuated the island for the storm, but […]

Project SEARCH provides opportunities for SWFL hospital interns with disabilities

Hospitals in Southwest Florida are finally getting back to normal operations after Hurricane Ian, including a group of disabled interns with Project SEARCH, who returned to work on Monday. Project SEARCH is a collaboration between Southwest Florida school districts, hospital systems and the Center for Independent Living Gulf Coast. It’s a year-long program that gives […]

Rebuild SWFL Instagram page brings young volunteers together to clean up after Ian

A group of young adults started an Instagram page to get volunteers into hard-hit communities to help clean up after Hurricane Ian, rebuilding Southwest Florida one neighborhood at a time. The group Rebuild SWFL posts clean-up sites, dates and times on its Instagram page, then people just show up. WINK News volunteers at Corky Condon’s […]

Missouri Task Force 1 continues looking for survivors in Fort Myers Beach

More than a week after Hurricane Ian washed away swaths of Southwest Florida, search and rescue teams from all over the U.S. are still combing through the ruins in places like Fort Myers Beach to find anyone who may have been left behind. “You know, the debris is phenomenal,” said Randy Sanders of Missouri Task […]

40 Under 40: Mother of 4, CEO keeping SWFL children out of foster care

One of Gulfshore Business’ 40 Under 40 nominees for 2022 is a woman whose goal goes beyond Southwest Florida, as she works to keep families together and out of the foster care system. Megan Rose, a mother of four and CEO of Better Together, knows it takes a village to raise a child “My family […]

Pet Pals: Mojo

On this week’s Pet Pals segment, WINK News anchor Taylor Petras is introduced to another of the Gulf Coast Humane Society’s adoptable dogs, Mojo. Mojo is a 6-year-old lab mix looking for a patient family to call his own. Mojo came to Gulf Coast Humane Society about a month ago. He may be shy at […]

Pet Pals: Diane

On this week’s Pet Pals segment, WINK News anchor Taylor Petras meets another adoptable dog from the Gulf Coast Humane Society, Diane. You would never know Diane was neglected before coming to the Gulf Coast Humane Society. Her tail didn’t stop wagging when she visited the WINK News studio. The 5-year-old terrier mix learned how […]