What a thrill it is to be back in the Show Me State! My news career has taken me all over the country, and it’s long been my ambition to get back to my Missouri roots. I couldn’t be happier to do so with FOX-4.
I am a native of a small Mississippi River town, Elsberry, just north of St. Louis. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism and psychology minor from Webster University-St. Louis in 2006, and completed my Master of Arts in Communications Management through Webster’s online school in 2011.
After finishing undergraduate work, I started my television career as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor with KHQA in Quincy, Ill. I even filled in as a weathercaster a time or two.
Following a year in the Land of Lincoln, I headed to Tornado Alley in central Kansas to head up the Great Bend bureau for KSN-TV, where storm chasing was a frequent occurrence. During my time in the Sunflower State, I was recognized several times by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
I then swept off to Iowa in 2010 and spent three years as a reporter/fill-in anchor for KWWL in Waterloo, where my work included covering a slew of presidential candidate visits, more storm chasing, the “farm beat” and an extensive investigation into synthetic drug dealings, which ultimately led to criminal prosecution of a local store owner. I also successfully got a national food chain to change its advertising to remove a negative reference to Iowa.
In 2013, I made a big change of pace leaving the wheat and corn fields of the Midwest for the mountains of West Virginia as a reporter and weekend anchor/producer for WCHS/WVAH in Charleston. During my time in the Mountain State, I also became the chief education reporter, wrote a successful blog and spearheaded a community initiative getting high school dropouts back on the path to a diploma. In July 2015, I was ready to leave behind snow storms for year-round sunshine as a reporter at ABC Action News in Tampa.
My husband Floyd, our son Drake, puggle Aleah and I are now proud to call Kansas City home–a community we often visited growing up, and where we have friends and family.
When I’m not chasing down the news, you might catch me outside running. I frequently compete in 5K races and have done a few triathlons. I’m also involved with my local church and Habitat for Humanity. Because apparently that’s not enough, I’m a certified Zumba instructor and dabble in portrait photography.
When I’m not busy with all of that, I love to travel, spend time with family, and catch up on St. Louis sports. We are huge Cardinals and Blues fans. (And following the bitter departure of the Rams, you might convince us to be Chiefs fans now!)
We like to say the Red Birds follow our life’s big moments–winning World Series championships the year we got married and again the year our son was born.
My job is to be a voice for you, and I welcome your input and suggestions for stories. I look forward to hearing from you!
