Meet the Team

Chris O’Brien

Chris O’Brien is an anchor/multimedia journalist for WUFT News from Rockledge, Florida (321 always!). He’s closing in on four years working at the station and has covered or anchored all sorts of news, including hurricanes, crime, affordable housing and elections. Chris has interned with the CBS News Investigative Unit in New York City, WBIR Channel 10 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and right here in Gainesville at WCJB TV20. When he’s not working, you can find the outdoorsy senior traveling the country and hiking in national parks or catching the Gators win another football game. You can keep up with all of Chris’s work at christophercobrien.com or follow him on Twitter @THEChrisOB.

Anneliese Linder

Anneliese is a multimedia journalist for WUFT News and an associate producer for The Lede. She has produced and anchored for North-Central Florida’s broadcast of NPR’s All Things Considered. She also serves as an ambassador for UF Online. Anneliese has a passion for acting, photography and traveling. She will be graduating in May 2021. You can find Anneliese’s work online and on Twitter @anneliese_lindr.

Meleah Lyden

Meleah Lyden is a multimedia journalist for WUFT News. She has reported for digital and broadcast platforms along with being a producer for North-Central Florida’s broadcast of NPR’s All Things Considered. Meleah has also worked at The Independent Florida Alligator. She believes connection and storytelling are essential to journalism. Check out her work at meleahlyden.com and follow her on Twitter @MeleahLyden.

Quan McWil

Quan McWil is a photojournalist at NewsChannel 5 in Nashville. Quan is a storytelling enthusiast and a proud bilingual journalist who believes in connecting with viewers through diversity and emotional depth in his stories. He joined this project toward the end of his reporting for WUFT in Gainesville and interviewed Danny Rolling’s defense attorneys.

Gabriella Mercurio

Gabriella is an award-winning multimedia journalist for WUFT News. She is one of the hosts for NPR’s Morning Edition on WUFT-FM and is a reporter for WUFT’s The Lede. When she’s not reporting, the South Florida native can be found giving tours of the College of Journalism and Communications as an ambassador or searching for the best cup of coffee. To keep up with Gabriella, you can follow her on Twitter @gmerc_.

Sofia Mingote

Sofia is an award-winning journalist for WUFT News. Sofia hosts the North-Central Florida broadcast of NPR’s Morning Edition on the market-leading WUFT-FM. She serves the College of Journalism as an ambassador, and she is currently working to earn both a degree in Telecommunication News and Political Science, with a minor in Spanish. When she’s not in the newsroom, she loves giving tours to prospective students as a Florida Cicerone and serving first-year students as the Director of Membership for the Freshman Leadership Council. You can find Sofia on Twitter @SofiaMingote.

Anthony Montalto

Anthony Montalto is a multimedia journalist for WUFT News. He’s reported for both WUFT-FM and TV since May 2019, covering Hurricane Dorian, Alachua County’s fight against phosphate mining and even a political campaign museum in a Gainesville man’s home. In addition to reporting, Anthony is one of the anchors for North-Central Florida broadcast of NPR’s Morning Edition. When he’s not in the newsroom, you can probably find him in the Music Building working on his trumpet performance minor . . . or at the nearest coffee shop. Follow him on Twitter @atmontalto.

Kristin Moorehead

Kristin Moorehead is a radio reporter and features intern covering the pandemic for WUFT News. She has worked on various features about her community, including Alachua County’s Truth and Reconciliation Process and UF’s pandemic reopening plan. She is working towards a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications and a Professional master’s. When she’s not in the newsroom, she loves playing music with the UF Marching Band. You can check out her work online (kristinmoorehead.wordpress.com) or on Twitter @K__Moorehead.

Audrey Mostek

Audrey Mostek is a rising senior at the University of Florida pursuing a career in journalism. Audrey has been found doing multiple jobs throughout the WUFT newsroom, from reporting in television, print and radio, anchoring the political segment of First at Five, to producing and live hosting North-Central Florida’s NPR All Things Considered station. More recently, she was an intern for the ACLU’s podcast, At Liberty. She will be staying on At Liberty for the fall term as well, where she’ll be creating topical episodes leading up to the November election. Audrey’s dream is to work in a setting where she’s able to learn and grow everyday through elevating the stories and experiences of marginalized voices, and to take her audience along for that journey. She’s an avid podcast consumer herself, a proud Montanan and first generation college student.

Camille Respess

Camille Respess is a special projects reporter for WUFT. The St. Louis native is also a lead student reporter on Why Don’t We Know, a podcast series about education secrecy produced by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information. In the past, Camille appeared as a panelist on “Meet the Press: College Roundtable,” spent months reporting on the uncertain future of school busing programs across the nation and was an assistant project editor for The Trace’s “Since Parkland” special report. Camille is currently an intern for NBC News and MSNBC and will graduate from UF in December. You can find Camille online at www.camillerespess.com and @Camille_Respess on Twitter.

Producers:

Katie Hyson, Supervising Editor of Digital Content

Josh Williams, Graduate Assistant

Executive Producers and Team Leaders:

Moni Basu, Michael and Linda Connelly Lecturer for Narrative Nonfiction

Ryan Vasquez, Multimedia News Manager, Audio

Illustrations by Fiona Schneider

Thank you to the friends and families of the victims who shared their stories with us.

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