We may be partial, but we think that VPR has the greatest staff in the world – we love it when new folks join the VPR Family, and we truly hate to see them move on. And because we consider you members of the family too, we wanted to let you know about some recent comings and goings:
Online Editor/Reporter Kirk Carapezza moves on to cover higher education for public radio station WGBH in Boston. In his two years at VPR, Kirk has helped launch Public Post, positioning us as a go-to source for local government information and news, and enter more fully into the digital news era. He has a keen ear for a good story, which helped him earn a regional Edward R. Murrow Award last year – a story that allowed Kirk to marry his passion for baseball with his musical hero.
News Director Ross Sneyd is leaving VPR after six years to take a communications position at the Montpelier-based National Life Group. He has had a distinguished career in Vermont journalism, having served as News Director at VPR since 2007 and also for many years at the Associated Press. He has had many achievements, perhaps most notably his leadership of VPR's coverage of Tropical Storm Irene.
Director of Information Technology Asa Sourdiffe has helped maintain VPR's network and computers since 2006. After spending most of his life in Vermont, he’s leaving VPR and heading west to Seattle in the fall. He’s taking the summer off to play music, work on his photography skills, hike, and travel. If the weather’s bad, he says he has some computer projects to work on as well.
We’ve said hello recently to a few new staff members, too:
Matt Parrilla joined VPR as a web developer after learning how to code by launching his own web startup. He studied Physics as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, found his way to Vermont in 2010 and fell in love with the place. Matt is an avid rock climber and a backcountry skier and - when not in front of his computer - can be found in the mountains or wandering along forest streams, fly rod in hand.
Francesca Orsini arrived to be VPR’s office administrator after years of working as a polymath-for-hire around Vermont. She also works on butcher blocks as a baker, and while she wouldn’t call herself a candlestick-maker she has, in all likelihood, made a few. Her undergraduate studies focused on Wellness and Alternative Medicine, and she worked through college as a chemistry tutor and an exercise physiology research assistant. When she isn’t behind VPR’s front desk, you can find her enjoying the sunshine from the rocks of Lake Champlain, the tops of New England’s mountains, and the saddle of her bicycle with a cappuccino in hand and gluten-free pastry in pack.
Mary Carol Maganzini joined VPR as a board operator/announcer in January. She began her broadcast career 25 years ago as news director at WEZF in Colchester. She has a BA in Economics and Fine Arts from St. Michael’s College and an MFA in acting from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She appeared in various roles over the years on the stage of Saint Michael’s Playhouse, and teaches young actors in The Broadway Workshop summer camp at Saint Mike’s.
