VPR Regional News
Staff
Producer/Reporter, Vermont Edition
Sarah Ashworth spends her days developing content for VPR's
locally produced newsmagazine Vermont Edition. She joined VPR in 2007, just as Vermont
Edition was transitioning from a weekly newsmagazine into a daily program.
An award-winning producer, Ashworth had served as News
Director for KBIA, an NPR station in Columbia, Missouri.
Before being promoted to News Director, Sarah had worked as a reporter, anchor,
editor and producer for KBIA. While there, she directed documentaries, including one on the New Madrid Fault Line, which won a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Documentary.
A graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism, Sarah began
her career as a television reporter in 1997. She joined KBIA in 2002.
Producer, Morning Edition
Melody wakes up very early in the morning to produce regional
content for VPR’s
Morning Edition.
She began at VPR as a part-time production assistant and was promoted to full time
in 2007. She has also served as a news and editorial assistant for
The Burlington
Free Press. After graduating from Skidmore
College, she spent a year in France
working as a high school teaching assistant. Melody grew up on a dairy farm in Addison
County. She spends her free time
gardening, cooking, and being outside as much as possible.
Local Host, All Things Considered/Reporter
Since 2001, Neal has been a general news reporter and host of VPR's All Things Considered. He joined VPR in 1996, serving as host of VPR's jazz programming, including live performances from the VPR studios and the Discover Jazz Festival. Prior to VPR, Neal was a programmer and host for WNCS in Montpelier and WDEV in Waterbury. He holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.
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Senior Producer, Vermont Edition
Patti is an integral part of VPR's news effort and part of the team that created Vermont Edition. She has produced public affairs programs like VPR's symposia and election night coverage, and co-produced the hour-long documentary, Phish: The Final Curtain with Steve Zind. A graduate of Bates College, Patti worked for several years on civil society projects in the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. She just recently retired from playing rugby and ran her first marathon.
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Reporter
A veteran journalist, Steve joined VPR in 1997. As a correspondent for NBCNews, Steve covered presidential candidates from 1964 through 1984, served as resident correspondent in the Middle East for four years, and covered the State Department during the Iran hostage crisis. After NBC, he served as a host and correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor's cable newscast and Monitor Radio.
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VPR Reporter
A veteran Vermont reporter, John joined VPR in 2001. Previously, John was a staff writer for the Sunday Times Argus and the Sunday Rutland Herald, responsible for breaking stories and in-depth features on local issues. He has also served as Communications Director for the Vermont Health Care Authority and Bureau Chief for UPI in Montpelier. John was honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in 2007 for his reporting on VPR.
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Online Producer
Tim is an online producer, responsible for maintaining VPR Regional News content on this site.
He came to Vermont Public Radio in 2005 from Vermont Public Television, where he produced segments for the program "Outdoor Journal." Tim has also served as an associate producer for Resolution Productions.
He is a former member of the St. Barts Players theatre company in New York City. That's an experience that we still benefit from as Tim has co-hosted the annual VPR American Music Sampler program for the past two years. He calls himself "a confirmed movie geek".
Reporter
Nina has been reporting for VPR since 1996, primarily focusing on the Rutland area. An experienced journalist, Nina covered international and national news for seven years with the Voice of America. She has also served as a foreign correspondent in Germany, for both the VOA and Marketplace, public radio's business news program. She began her career at Wisconsin Public Radio. In 2006, Nina was honored with a national Edward R. Murrow Award for her investigative reporting on VPR.
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Producer/Reporter, Vermont Edition
Susan Keese is a long-time Vermont journalist and feature writer who began reporting for VPR in 2002. In 2007, she joined VPR full-time as producer for Vermont Edition, VPR’s news magazine, based in VPR’s Manchester Studio at Burr and Burton Academy. She has been a columnist and reporter for the Rutland Herald. She is also a frequent contributor to Vermont Life magazine. Her work has also appeared in The Boston Globe Magazine, The New York Times, and other magazines and newspapers. Susan was honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards in 2006 for her reporting on VPR.
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Host, Reporter
Bob is a veteran Vermont journalist, specializing in political reporting. He is based in VPR’s Capital Bureau located across the street from Vermont’s Statehouse. Prior to joining VPR full time in 2002, Bob ran the Vermont News Service for 21 years. The service provided daily local news for eleven stations, including VPR. Bob started the News Service following a stint as news director for WNCS.
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Host, Vermont Edition
Jane joined VPR from Marketplace, public radio's award winning national business program, where she served as director/producer. A native Vermonter, Jane graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Anthropology. She began her career writing and editing for Let’s Go Travel Guides. In 2001, she joined National Public Radio (NPR) as an Editorial/Production Assistant for Radio Expeditions, a co-production of NPR and the National Geographic Society. She's also worked with NPR's Talk of the Nation and Weekend Edition Saturday. Jane spends her free time writing, reading, hiking and in artistic endeavors including photography, pottery and printmaking.
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Producer, All Things Considered/Reporter
Lynne is part of the team that brings you All Things Considered. Lynne also reports and produces some of our in-depth news stories. Lynne joined VPR in 2002. A veteran broadcast producer, she spent 12 years as field producer at ABC affiliate WCVB in Boston, where she did reporting and writing for the award-winning Chronicle newsmagazine. Since coming to Vermont in 1995, Lynne has produced and written television documentary and magazine programs as well as a variety of new media projects.
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Producer, VPR Commentary Series/Reporter
Betty is a VPR veteran. She was VPR's first full time employee, hired in 1976 to handle a variety of administrative aspects. Once the station began broadcasting in 1977, she also served as an on-air host.
Comfortable both on-air and behind the scenes, Betty produces the VPR commentary series and reports on cultural events across the region. She's based in VPR's Norwich studio.
Prior to joining VPR, Betty was a local AM radio personality and actress.
Newscast Producer/Reporter
Ross joined VPR in 2007 and oversees the continuity and development of daily newscasts on the state-wide network. A veteran journalist, Ross worked with The Associated Press for 25 years; 20 of those years in Vermont covering politics, state government and the state Legislature. He has covered the presidential primaries in New Hampshire, the presidential campaign of Howard Dean and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. He began his career as a print reporter during college in Ohio. He moved to Vermont in 1987 to write for The Burlington Free Press.
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Vice President of News
John has led the VPR News Department since 2001. During this time, VPR has expanded its news and feature coverage with regional newscasts now heard during Morning Edition, All Things Considered and in the noon hour. John is a recipient of the Associated Press Distinguished Service Award and was the executive producer of the nationally award-winning documentary, Howard Dean: The Vermont Years. He was the managing editor of the Pulitizer Prize-winning Rutland Herald and also was a founding editor of the Windsor Chronicle. He grew up on a dairy farm in southern Vermont.
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Local Host, Morning Edition
A graduate of NYU with a Master's Degree in journalism, Mitch has more than 10 years experience in radio news.
Previously, Mitch worked at WBUR in Boston where he spent six years working in many capacities including Senior Producer, Editor, and fill-in co-host of the nationally distributed Here and Now.
Morning Edition Host Mitch Wertlieb and his wife Erin welcomed their daughter Gretchen into the world on August 5th. Mitch says Gretchen is already a big fan of VPR and the Boston Red Sox. Now, if she would just sleep through the night...
Editor, Vermont Edition/Reporter
Steve has been with VPR since 1994, first serving as host of VPR’s public affairs program and then as a reporter, based in Central Vermont. Many VPR listeners recognize Steve for his special reports from Iran, providing a glimpse of this country that is usually hidden from the rest of the world. Prior to working with VPR, Steve served as program director for WNCS for 17 years, and also worked as news director for WCVR in Randolph. A graduate of Northern Arizona University, Steve also worked for stations in Phoenix and Tucson before moving to Vermont in 1972. Steve was honored in 2007 with two national Edward R. Murrow Awards for his reporting on VPR.
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