Michigan Public Staff

Large sets of numbers add up to peoples’ stories. As Michigan Public’s Data Reporter, Adam Yahya Rayes seeks to sift through noisy digits to put the individuals and policies that make up our communities into perspective.

April Baer is the host of Michigan Public’s Stateside talk show.

April Van Buren is a producer for Stateside. She produces interviews for air as well as web and social media content for the show.

Beenish Ahmed is Michigan Public's Criminal Justice reporter. Since 2016, she has been a reporter for WNYC Public Radio in New York and also a freelance journalist. Her stories have appeared on NPR, as well as in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic, VICE and The Daily Beast.

Brett joined Michigan Public in December 2021 as an editor.

Briana Rice is Michigan Public's criminal justice reporter. She's focused on what Detroiters need to feel safe and whether they're getting it.

Caoilinn Goss is the producer for Morning Edition. She started at Michigan Public during the summer of 2023.

Christopher Johnson is married with two daughters. Born and raised in Detroit, he is a floating fill-in host at Michigan Public.

Doug Tribou joined the Michigan Public staff as the host of Morning Edition in 2016. Doug first moved to Michigan in 2015 when he was awarded a Knight-Wallace journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Dustin Dwyer reports enterprise and long-form stories from Michigan Public’s West Michigan bureau. He was a fellow in the class of 2018 at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. He’s been with Michigan Public since 2004, when he started as an intern in the newsroom.

Kate Wells is a Peabody Award-winning journalist currently covering public health. She was a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist for her abortion coverage.

Katheryne Friske is the weekend morning host and producer for All Things Considered.

Lester Graham reports for The Environment Report. He has reported on public policy, politics, and issues regarding race and gender inequity. He was previously with The Environment Report at Michigan Public from 1998-2010.

Lindsey Smith is a Peabody Award-winning journalist currently leading the station's Amplify Team. She previously served as Michigan Public's Morning News Editor, Investigative Reporter and West Michigan Reporter.

Mark Brush was the station's Digital Media Director. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.

Michelle Jokisch Polo is a producer for Stateside. She joins us from WKAR in Lansing, where she reported in both English and Spanish on a range of topics, including politics, healthcare access and criminal justice.

Mike Blank is a producer and editor for Stateside.

Mike Perini is Michigan Public's midday host. He started at the station in 1996 as a temporary, fill-in announcer and was made the full-time midday host in 2002.

Mercedes Mejia is a producer and director of Stateside.

Paulette is a digital media reporter and producer for Michigan Public. She started as a newsroom intern at the station in 2014 and has taken on various roles in that time, including filling in as an on-air host.

Rebecca Kruth is the host of All Things Considered at Michigan Public. She also co-hosts Michigan Public's weekly language podcast That’s What They Say with English professor Anne Curzan.

Rebecca Williams is senior editor in the newsroom, where she edits stories and helps guide news coverage.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987.

Ronia Cabansag is a producer for Stateside. She comes to Michigan Public from Eastern Michigan University, where she earned a BS in Media Studies & Journalism and English Linguistics with a minor in Computer Science.

Sarah Cwiek joined Michigan Public in October 2009. As our Detroit reporter, she is helping us expand our coverage of the economy, politics, and culture in and around the city of Detroit.

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Public since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting.

Taha Abbas is Michigan Public's Audience Insights Analyst. Having got his degree in Marketing from Eastern Michigan University, Taha brings experience in interpreting data sets and ad campaigns. He works with all departments helping to analyze our audience and curate strategies around them.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.

Tyler Scott is the weekend afternoon host at Michigan Public, though you can often hear him filling in at other times during the week. Tyler started in radio at age 18, as a board operator at WMLM 1520AM in Alma, Michigan, where he later became host of The Morning Show.

Wendy Turner's leadership is guided by a commitment to ensuring that Michigan Public remains a vital resource for news, culture, and education across the state.

Daryel is Michigan Public's Director of Development, overseeing the fundraising and philanthropic support for the radio station

Jodi is Michigan Public's Director of Digital Audiences, leading and developing the station’s overall digital strategy.

Laura is Executive Producer of Stateside. She came to Michigan Public from WDET in Detroit, where she was senior producer on the current events program, Detroit Today.

Matt Shafer Powell returned to Michigan Public in 2022, after working as Director of News Content at WUOT in Knoxville, TN and Chief Content Officer at WFYI in Indianapolis, IN.

Vincent Duffy has been news director at Michigan Public since May 2007.

Zoe Clark is Michigan Public's Political Director. In this role, Clark guides coverage of the state Capitol, elections, and policy debates.

Carol is a Senior Corporate Sponsorship Consultant. Prior to joining Michigan Public in 2008, she served as the General Manager of the Urban One radio station group in Detroit. Her career in broadcast spans over decades, one of which was spent in the Boston area.

Danielle has been with Michigan Public since January 2015. As a journalism major in college, Danielle fell in love with public media in general and Michigan Public in particular.

Ellen Perry has been at Michigan Public since October 2016 as an Account Executive on the Corporate Support team.

Jaci Kovala has been at Michigan Public since May 2019 as an Account Executive on the Corporate Support team.

Alix is Michigan Public's Gift and Donor Administrative Assistant. She began her career in development back in 2016 for the Office of University Development at the University of Michigan.

Avery joined Michigan Public as a Gift and Donor Administrative Assistant in June 2023. They are responsible for gift processing, donor communications, and data management.

Chenita Anderson is Michigan Public's Development Accounts Receivable Clerk Associate.

Christa Quinn is the Lead Major Giving Officer at Michigan Public. She spent the first five years of her time at Michigan Public as a member of the Corporate Sponsorship team. Christa came to Michigan Public in late 2018 with many years of experience in the media industry.

Danielle has been with Michigan Public since January 2015. As a journalism major in college, Danielle fell in love with public media in general and Michigan Public in particular.

Daryel is Michigan Public's Director of Development, overseeing the fundraising and philanthropic support for the radio station

Kate is Michigan Public's Business Systems Analyst supporting the station's development efforts.

Yma is Michigan Public's grants manager. She joined the team in 2024 and has been writing grants for nonprofit organizations since 2004.

Andrea, who joined Michigan Public in 2007, is the station’s Budget Analyst. She is responsible for the post-award financial duties of our sponsored grants, as well as our monthly accounting and annual budget process.

Cindy Payne is Michigan Public's Human Resource Administrator. She is responsible for day to day HR related issues, employment, and assists with the monthly accounts payable and billing processes. Cindy has been at the University of Michigan for 23 years and Michigan Public for 13.

Lauren Ernst is the Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Michigan Public, supporting media partnerships, pinch-hitting on graphic design, working on events, and more

Lynette is Michigan Public's receptionist and has been with the station since 2015. She assists with the data entry of gifts, and is listeners' first point of contact when they call or visit Michigan Public. She loves working at the station since it’s like a home away from home. She looks forward to talking with you.

Peggy J. Watson is the Operations Manager at Michigan Public. She began her career at the station in 1983 after graduating from WMU. Peggy is proud to work for a network whose mission is to create a more informed public.

Rukiya is a lifelong Detroiter who’s a queer abolitionist, organizer, activist, and writer. They hold a masters in urban planning from Wayne State University and lead The Solutionaries Collective

Rusty has been working with computers since the 1980's when data was stored on audio tapes and a computers weighed more than a boat anchor. He's delighted now that computing devices weight only a few ounces and data storage has moved into the cloud.

Suzanne Belanger is a Marketing Associate at Michigan Public, coordinating community and media partnerships, public relations, special events, and more. She started working in radio when she was 14 years old at her hometown station in Delphos, Ohio. Throughout her radio career, she’s worked at a number of stations in Ohio, Florida and Michigan.

It has been my duty to maintain the broadcast transmission equipment and systems at our three transmitter sites in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Flint. Including my time at the station, I have a total of more than 28 years of broadcast experience in both radio and TV in both small and major markets.

Anne Curzan is the Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan. She also holds faculty appointments in the Department of Linguistics and the School of Education.

Since 1995 John has created Michigan-based editorial cartoons for the Grand Rapids Business Journal, the Grand Rapids Press, and MLive Newspapers. His cartoons are currently featured at MichiganPublic.org and are syndicated to newspapers through the Michigan Press Association. John is an active member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. You can view an archive of his editorial work and other cartoons at Auchtoon.com.

John U. Bacon has worked nearly three decades as a writer, a public speaker, and a college instructor, winning awards for all three.