Lynn Arditi
Journalist
Lynn joined The Public’s Radio as health reporter in 2017 after more than three decades as a journalist, including 28 years at The Providence Journal. Her series “A 911 Emergency,” a project of the 2019 ProPublica Local Reporting Network, won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award in the radio/podcast category in 2020.
A native of New York City, she graduated from Oberlin College and landed her first journalism job at The Center for Investigative Reporting (now known as Reveal) in Washington, D.C., where she did story development for 60 Minutes. When the T.V. market imploded in 1987, the D.C. office of CIR closed and within a year she moved to Massachusetts to take a reporting job at the former Holyoke Transcript-Telegram, a small daily newspaper.
A year later, she moved to Providence, R.I. to work at The Providence Journal. There, she worked for several years as a bureau reporter covering schools and local issues, before she began covering statewide beats including higher education, the economy, housing and health care. During those years, she also honed her skills in narrative journalism, and served as chairwoman of the newspaper’s writing committee. Her work has been recognized by New England Associated Press News Executives Association and the Society of American Business Editors & Writers.
Lynn is mom to two sons and lives in Barrington with her husband and their dog. More by Lynn Arditi
James Baumgartner
Production Director
James produces and engineers Political Roundtable, The Weekly Catch and other special programming on The Public’s Radio. He also produces Artscape, the weekly arts & culture segment heard every Thursday. His favorite part of the job is talking with artists, musicians and other creators about their process and what inspires them.
James learned the basics of audio editing while studying music at Missouri State University. He went on to get a Master of Fine Arts in Electronic Art at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he created electronic music, video art and internet-based media art. While at RPI, James went on the air for the first time, hosting an electronic music show on Rensselaer’s station, WRPI, but his love of radio came from staying up late so he could hear punk rock on KKFI, the community radio station in Kansas City, Missouri. More by James Baumgartner
Ben Berke
South Coast Bureau Reporter
Based in New Bedford, Ben staffs our South Coast Bureau desk. He covers anything that happens in Fall River, New Bedford, and the surrounding towns, as long as it’s a good story. His assignments have taken him to jails, factories, city halls, fishing vessels, bakeries, environmental cleanup sites and the homes of hundreds of interview subjects. Ben joined the bureau in February 2021 after three years in Brockton reporting for The Enterprise. His freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Providence Journal. When he’s not working, Ben can often be found near the beach hiking, surfing and collecting the strange things that wash ashore. More by Ben Berke
Jeremy Bernfeld
Senior Editor for Investigations
Jeremy leads the investigations desk at The Public’s Radio, helping the newsroom publish more investigative and accountability journalism that matters to Rhode Island and the Southcoast.
Prior to joining The Public’s Radio, Jeremy was the director of collaborative reporting at WAMU in Washington, D.C., and founder of Guns & America, an award-winning national reporting project covering the role of guns in American life. He was also editor of Harvest Public Media, a collaborative project covering our food system based in Kansas City.
A native New Englander, Jeremy currently lives in Providence, where he spends his time chasing after his wife, daughter and dog, and occasionally riding his bike. More by Jeremy Bernfeld
Ian Donnis
Political Reporter
One of the state’s top political reporters, Ian Donnis joined The Public’s Radio in 2009. Ian has reported on Rhode Island politics since 1999, arriving in the state just two weeks before the FBI raided City Hall and Buddy Cianci’s East Side home. Ian covers breaking news, develops in-depth features and investigative reports, and welcomes a range of newsmakers to “Political Roundtable” each week. He also writes our Friday political newsletter and maintains a strong social media presence.
For many years, Ian was a panelist on WPRI-TV’s Sunday morning public affairs show, Newsmakers, and he’s a regular guest on A Lively Experiment on Rhode Island PBS. His previous experience includes serving as news editor of The Providence Phoenix and as a reporter for the Associated Press and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. He has a BS in journalism from Boston University.
Outside of work, Ian enjoys baseball, cooking, and exploring Rhode Island. More by Ian Donnis
Olivia Ebertz
Metro Desk Reporter
Olivia Ebertz comes to The Public’s Radio from WNYC, where she was a producer for Morning Edition. Prior to that, she spent two years reporting for KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, where she wrote a lot about how the warming climate is forcing local Indigenous communities to change their traditional lifeways.
Prior to her career as a journalist, Olivia worked in film. Her documentaries have screened at festivals worldwide.
Olivia likes to pursue stories inspired by questions from community members.
Ella habla español, lei parla italiano, и она говорит по-русски. More by Olivia Ebertz
Sally Eisele
Chief Content Officer
Sally oversees all broadcast, digital and in-person platforms committed to community-driven, enterprise and investigative journalism. She manages a content team of 14 editors, hosts, reporters and producers which has won more than a dozen local, regional and national awards for its multiplatform journalism, including a national Scripps Howard award and a National Headliner award, Edward R. Murrow awards and honors from the Public Media Journalists Association. She also works with the CEO and other members of the senior leadership team on short and long-term programming strategy and is the liaison to the Community Advisory Board.
Her career includes 10 years as managing editor at WBEZ in Chicago, and 10 years at KQED in San Francisco, where she was the founding senior producer of The California Report, a daily statewide public media news service. In both of those roles, she played a lead role in building the organizations’ local journalism teams, which are now regarded as among the best in public media.
Sally began her career in Michigan, where she studied journalism at Michigan State University, reported on politics and the environment and served as managing editor of the Michigan Public Radio Network.
When she’s not working, Sally is learning about Rhode Island quahogs- how to find them and more importantly, how to eat them. More by Sally Eisele
Dave Fallon
Afternoon Host
Veteran newsman Dave Fallon is behind the microphone Monday through Friday afternoons, delivering the newscasts and assisting with other production. Dave’s experience includes work as a reporter, anchor, managing editor and news director; primarily in Providence and Boston. He also worked as a regional correspondent for the CBS, NBC and ABC radio networks, and as a political communications executive.
Dave was inducted into the Rhode Island Radio and TV Hall of Fame in 2014. The Cranston native and Cumberland resident enjoys the outdoors, Boston sports teams, historical non-fiction, along with his family; including a long line of rescued dogs and cats. More by Dave Fallon
Nate Halda
Manager, Member Services and Special Projects
A passionate public radio fan, Nate came to The Public’s Radio as a volunteer in 2017. He joined the progress team in 2021 full-time and now manages our donor base and is the friendly voice at the other end of our member services line. Nate also assists with events and serves as the on-air fundraising producer, and is the voice behind many of our promotional spots.
A lifelong musician and audio enthusiast, Nate likes to repair vintage sound equipment as well as develop his own audio effect circuits. He lives in Providence with his wife and their rescue cat.
Cheryl Hatch
Newport Bureau Reporter
Cheryl has worked as a photographer and reporter for newspapers, wire services and European press agencies. She is a multi-lingual storyteller and educator with years of global experience. As an international journalist, she covered the cost of conflict in the Middle East and Africa. She focused on witnessing and sharing the stories of those who are often caught in the crossfire. She also worked for community newspapers in Oregon, Florida and California.
After her international experiences, she founded a nonprofit, Women’s Education Initiative. With her volunteer board members, she seeks to support and enrich the lives of women overseas through access to a college education in their homelands. Cheryl also developed journalism courses for higher education and a successful journalism conference and multimedia workshop. More by Cheryl Hatch
Luis Hernandez
Morning Host
Luis helms the morning lineup. He is a 20-year public radio veteran, having joined The Public’s Radio in 2022. That journey has taken him from the land of Gators at the University of Florida to WGCU in Fort Myers to KNPR in Las Vegas and then to WLRN in Miami.
Luis sees himself as a journalist and an entertainer, which is what drives him every morning—bringing more local news to the listeners and doing it in an interesting and sometimes fun way.
He also co-hosts Artscape and hosts The Weekly Catch. In his spare time, Luis is working on a couple of novels, a couple of podcasts and is getting back into painting. More by Luis Hernandez
Mareva Lindo
Daily Editor
Mareva joined The Public’s Radio in 2022 and oversees daily news production, writes our Daily Catch newsletter and edits two weekly productions, Artscape and The Weekly Catch.
In 2023, Mareva received two awards from the Public Media Journalists Association for her work with The Public’s Radio, including a first-place Multi-Media Presentation award for the 2022 Elections page, and a second-place Short Documentary award for editing and co-production of “The Secret of Chiqui Versace.”
A Chicago-made journalist and musician, Mareva strives to document and tell stories driven by community, curiosity, and listening. She is the creator of The Archives podcast at the Old Town School of Folk Music, where in 2017 she conducted an oral history of the school in partnership with StoryCorps. In the past Mareva has reported on public meetings as a City Bureau Documenter, led workshops on podcasting and audio storytelling, and crafted ethnography-based theater as a company member of the Albany Park Theater Project.
She holds a B.A. from Smith College in American Studies with a focus in popular culture. When not at The Public’s Radio, she’s been known to sing sea shanties and play the fiddle. More by Mareva Lindo
Torey Malatia
President, CEO and General Manager
A passionate journalist and nationally recognized leader, Torey Malatia received his degrees from Arizona State University in writing and English. A general journalist and music critic, he wrote for The Scottsdale Daily Progress, Phoenix Magazine, the alternative weekly, New Times, and the Chicago Sun-Times. He hosted classical music programs on Phoenix stations before being hired as the Director of Programming for the Beethoven Satellite Network at WFMT in Chicago. He produced for ABC/Capital Cities WLS, Chicago and produced and programmed public station KUOW, Seattle. He joined Chicago Public Media in 1993 as Vice President of Programming and became CEO in 1995. He began several local and national initiatives there, including multiple regional news bureaus for multilingual reporting on underserved communities, and Vocalo.org, a multi-platform 24/7 service for young people of color. He is also co-founder of the Peabody Award-winning This American Life. After 20 years overseeing Chicago Public Media, he joined the US and Global teams at Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, an NGO in Arlington, Va. He became CEO of The Public’s Radio in 2015. More by Torey Malatia
Kim Millette
Director of Corporate Support
Kim leads the small but mighty team who connects with local businesses and introduces them to the many benefits of public radio sponsorship. A passionate public radio fan herself, Kim understands our audience and embraces her role in providing them with a showcase of area businesses who share both their community and their values. Kim understands the importance of adapting and crafting new approaches with clients as they look to the future and the evolving needs of the community.
Kim is a Rhode Island native who now calls Bristol County, MA home. She received her BA in Communication from Rhode Island College and spent more than two decades in commercial radio sales before joining The Public’s Radio in 2017. In all aspects of her life, Kim’s primary goal is to make a positive impact on the community, both through her work and in the moments spent with loved ones.
Outside of work, Kim finds joy in spending time with her family and friends. She keeps busy frequenting college sporting events, swimming and cycling, gardening, cooking, and gathering for memorable meals and good times.
Maddie Mott
Director of Individual Giving
As part of our revenue team, Maddie manages our membership program, including fundraising strategies and donor relations. A dedicated public radio fan, Maddie Mott came to TPR from the Stonington Historical Society, where she served as the Director of Advancement and oversaw all fundraising and marketing initiatives for the Society. She has also worked in fundraising at the John Carter Brown Library, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Clackamas County Historical Society.
Maddie has a bachelor’s degree in public history from Portland State University and a master’s degree in public humanities from Brown University.
Originally from Oregon, Maddie is proud to now call Rhode Island home and lives in Providence with her husband and polydactyl cat. Beyond public radio, Maddie is interested in local coffee, urban gardening, and film photography. She will always have a seltzer recommendation and never misses an episode of The NPR Politics Podcast. More by Maddie Mott
Alex Nunes
Bureau Chief and South County Reporter
Alex oversees the three local bureaus at The Public’s Radio, and staffs the desk for our South County Bureau. Alex was previously the co-host and co executive producer of The Public’s Radio podcast, Mosaic. The show explored the history of immigration in Southern New England through the stories of individual immigrants and their descendants and received an Edward R. Murrow Award for best podcast in the New England region.
Alex previously worked as an editor at The Westerly Sun and The New London Day. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and a bachelor’s in sociology from Rhode Island College.
He lives in Westerly with his wife and two sons. He is originally from Farmington, Connecticut, and a dual citizen of the U.S. and Portugal. More by Alex Nunes
Mark Ramsey
Finance Assistant/Traffic Manager
Mark joined The Public’s Radio in December of 2019. In addition to performing day-to-day accounting tasks and payroll, he also schedules underwriting and manages the daily program log. Prior to moving to Rhode Island, Mark was the staff accountant at Alphagraphics in Pittsburgh, PA for 6 years, and has worked in accounting for more than two decades.
Mark is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, but also lived in Ohio, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and Illinois before moving to Rhode Island in 2019. He studied music at the University of Tennessee and has been writing and performing music regularly since the mid ’90s. He plays piano, guitar and alto saxophone. He lives in South Kingstown with his wife, son, and the family feline, who is still adjusting to not being the only baby in the house.
Aaron Read
Chief Engineer
Aaron leads the team that keeps our transmitters, computers and studios working at peak proficiency while strategizing future technical improvements. Born in Westerly and raised in nearby Mystic, CT, Aaron has lived in New England for over 40 years…albeit with a five-year detour to the Finger Lakes of NY and Santa Barbara, CA.
Prior to joining The Public’s Radio in 2012, Aaron worked at, with, or for a multitude of NPR and college radio outlets, including WBUR (Boston University), WEOS & WHWS (Hobart & William Smith Colleges), KCSB (UC, Santa Barbara), KCBX (San Luis Obispo), WMFO (Tufts University), WBRS (Brandeis University), WZBC (Boston College), WZLY (Wellesley College), and also the public radio programs The Infinite Mind and Living on Earth.
Read has a BA in Psychology from Boston University, and is a Certified Broadcast Technologist in the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and relishes his “jack of all trades” reputation. More by Aaron Read
Dan Schwartz
Corporate Support Representative
Before joining The Public’s Radio in 2022, Dan dedicated fifteen years of his career to a local magazine group, where he developed a deep understanding of Rhode Island’s culture and business landscape. This background provided him with valuable insights that he now utilizes in his work at The Public’s Radio.
In a media world that constantly blares and fragments, Dan firmly believes in the power of public media and its ability to serve both the local community and the global stage. In his role as a corporate support representative, he plays a crucial part in helping local businesses convey their messages to the community as underwriters. Dan truly values their contributions to the collaborative effort that keeps the non-profit radio station flourishing.
In his personal life, he’s a passionate Grateful Dead fan and draws culinary inspiration from his previous experience in the restaurant industry. Dan can also be found on the ice playing amateur hockey in a Pawtucket league.
Nadine Sebai
Journalist
Reporter Nadine Sebai specializes in labor issues and investigative journalism. In 2023, she and fellow TPR reporter Nina Sparling published “Underage & Unprotected” in partnership with PBS FRONTLINE. This groundbreaking investigative series shed light on the plight of immigrant teenagers working in New Bedford seafood processing facilities, highlighting critical labor issues.
Nadine’s voice has been heard on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, as well as Here & Now, WBUR, WGBH, KQED, KXJZ, BBC World, KPFA, and KALX. Her reporting and commitment to investigative journalism have earned her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Mark of Excellence Award for In-Depth Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists and a Reva and David Logan Prize for Excellence in Investigative Reporting.
When she’s not on the job, you’ll often find Nadine petting an animal or watching Lebanese soap operas. Fun fact: Nadine watched the documentary “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” more than 40 times, a film that sparked her transformation from an accountant to an investigative journalist. More by Nadine Sebai
Nina Sparling
Journalist
Nina Sparling is a reporter with The Public’s Radio’s investigative team. She has written for outlets including The New York Times, The Paris Review, Vogue, Logic Magazine, and the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Her radio work has appeared on Marketplace, KQED, Alaska Public Media, Capital Public Radio, and with the podcast 70 Million. More by Nina Sparling
Joe Tasca
Producer, host
The local voice on Weekend Edition for several years, Joe stepped into the role of morning producer in October 2023. Joe is also a reporter, covering stories in the field and conducting interviews with newsmakers.
From an early age, Joe was determined to become a broadcaster, and began his broadcast career as a high school student. His first job was working as a newscaster and engineer for WERI, a full-service radio station in his hometown of Westerly. Prior to coming to The Public’s Radio in 2018, Joe spent 15 years as a news anchor and reporter for a cluster of six radio stations in eastern Connecticut.
He graduated from Westerly High and earned his bachelor’s degree from Quinnipiac University. When he’s not working, he enjoys reading, writing, hiking, playing golf, and traveling to Canada. More by Joe Tasca
Ashley Tribble
Substitute Host
Ashley (aka Tribble) joined the TPR team as a substitute afternoon host in 2023. Hailing from the Midwest, Tribble is a comedian, producer and host who has been working in digital media since 2015. She started her career in audio as the creator, producer and host of P Power Radio, a podcast that shares the stories of revolutionary millennial women and the history of the world they are working to change. The podcast featured a range of women artists, activists, entrepreneurs and bosses from Chicago and beyond, and was listed among Ebony’s “5 Black Podcasts to Have in Your Arsenal” in 2016. In 2019, she helped launch More Sauce, a network focused on stories from creators of color at Stitcher. There she started her journey as the producer for Dead Ass with Khadeen & Devale Ellis, where she currently leads creative audio and live show production. In 2020, Tribble helped launch The Black Effect at iHeart, a network focused on Black stories and experiences.
Lily Wasserman
Corporate Support Representative
Lily joined The Public’s Radio in 2022, bringing with her a wealth of experience and long-standing passion for public media. Lily began her radio career at Ithaca College, and has since had the pleasure of working at WWOZ and WWNO in New Orleans, where she found her footing in fundraising, and KCAW in Sitka, Alaska, where she honed in on corporate support.
She enjoys working as part of a small team, and was drawn to The Public’s Radio’s outstanding reputation for community-centered journalism.
As a naturally curious person, Lily enjoys learning about the many businesses and nonprofits that make up the Rhode Island and Southeastern MA ecosystem. She has experienced first-hand the power of public radio sponsorship as a listener, and enjoys helping clients grow their customer and/or donor base.
Outside of work, Lily enjoys playing guitar, cooking, and exploring New England with her husband and rescue dog.
Nancy Wood
Chief Progress Officer
In her role, Nancy leads the team of professionals who are working to ensure that The Public’s Radio has the resources to grow as a community institution. While “fundraiser” was not on her “what I want to be when I grow up” list as a girl, her fearlessness for slinging Girl Scout cookies was surely a sign.
She started in public radio while still a journalism student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie (go, Cowboys!). She worked at Wyoming Public Radio for several years before her public media career path continued across the country, taking her to Phoenix, Chicago, North Dakota, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh. She joined The Public’s Radio in February of 2020.
Her nonprofit fundraising career includes a few stints outside of public media as well, but her passion for cause and extensive experience has brought her back every time. Outside of work, her passions include music, the performing arts, sunshine and spending time with her very spoiled feline family.