Susanna Capelouto, News Director

Susanna Capelouto has been reporting for GPB Radio since 1992. She covers education, welfare, the environment and legal issues for GPB Radio and NPR. Besides numerous awards from the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists, Susanna has received the Silver Gavel award from the Georgia Bar Association twice in her career. As Production Manager Susanna oversees local public affairs productions like Georgia Gazette, the longest running public radio features program with a Georgia focus.

Rickey Bevington, Host

Rickey has been a proud member of the GPB news team since January 2006. Atlanta-born but Boston-raised, Rickey began her broadcast career while attending Barnard College in New York City, where she indulged her love of independent film interning for three years at Sundance Channel. After graduating from Barnard in 2001, Rickey worked with Showtime Networks, Connecticut Public Radio, and the Hartford CBS television news affiliate, WFSB-TV.
Rickey also hosts GPB Television’s award-winning arts program, State of the Arts.

Mary Ellen Cheatham

Mary Ellen Cheatham is the Augusta radio bureau chief for Georgia Public Broadcasting. Her previous experience includes working on an in-depth newsmagazine show for Alabama Public Television. She also has served as a correspondent for The Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis, worked as a press coordinator for Bob Dole’s presidential campaign in Washington, D.C. in 1996, and has taught college journalism. Mary Ellen has a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

John Sepulvado

John Sepulvado started in journalism writing about local bands in San Diego, mainly so he could see the shows for free. Music pulled him to Austin, where he ended up covering the Texas statehouse for a small wire agency. John has gone on to cover the Terri Schiavo story for the BBC, the 2006 outbreak of E. Coli in California spinach for NPR, as well other stories ranging from mental health care treatment in minority communities to the 2008 Florida Democratic Primary debacle. John enjoys books by Aaron Cometbus, Diet Coke, and Scrabble.

Josephine Bennett

Josephine Bennett was born in New York City and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended college at Brigham Young University, majoring in Journalism. After college she landed her first broadcasting job with KDYL Newsradio 1280 in Salt Lake City. She went on to produce an award-winning talk show for KSL Television, television documentaries, and corporate training films. In 1991 she moved to Macon, Georgia with her family, working as a freelance writer for Nickelodeon and TV Land. She came to Georgia Public Broadcasting in 2006 and loves being back in radio.

Edgar Treiguts

Edgar Treiguts wakes you up every morning as GPB's statewide Morning Edition host. Born in suburban Chicago, Edgar graduated with a degree in music from Northwestern University. Prior to joining GPB, he worked at three different Atlanta radio stations over the years, including WSB. His radio experience includes extensive work in the sports realm, serving roles as host and reporter for Atlanta teams' network broadcasts. Along with his work on GPB's Morning Edition, Edgar can also be heard during GPB's afternoon newscasts and Georgia Gazette.

Amanda Scott

Amanda is the Radio Production Coordinator and Producer of the Mundo Lounge, an International lounge music program (coming in mid-May 08). She graduated from Brenau University with a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in radio and television broadcasting in May 2005. Amanda worked in community radio for 3 years before becoming part of the GPB Radio family as an intern for Radio in the fall of 2005. She began her broadcasting career in college radio at Brenau University as the host of "The World Wind Wind Up," a world music show as DJ Ms.Unique, and as student promotions director. She has also used her talents in broadcasting as a freelance production assistant for radio and film.

Dave Bender

Dave Bender is bureau chief in Columbus, and covers news and features in southwest Georgia. Dave was born in New York, and grew up in Florida and Texas. Before GPB, he worked in Israel many years as a journalist and multimedia producer for radio, internet and newspapers. Dave is the proud father of triplets.

Valarie Edwards

Born in New York City, but have called the San Francisco-Bay Area home for the last twenty years. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Pre-Law from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. My Master's degree is from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism (GO BEARS!). Currently, I am a reporter with Georgia Public Broadcasting. I have also worked for CNN in San Francisco, the Fox TV affiliate in Oakland, and for the Hartford Courant in Hartford, Conn. I also hosted Weekend Edition for KRCB in Santa Rosa, California, and was the News Director at the NPR-affiliate serving the Dayton (Ohio) metro area.

Orlando Montoya

Orlando Montoya is the Savannah-based news producer for Georgia Public Broadcasting. His reports can be heard across the state on GPB’s 16-station state-wide radio network and locally on WSVH 91.1 FM in Savannah and WWIO 88.9 FM in Brunswick. His beat is the entire Georgia coast, from Savannah to St. Mary’s, and includes such diverse issues as tropical storms, troop deployments, the environment, political scandals, education, art, music, history and culture. He is “the voice of the coast” for public radio listeners across the state and nation. A native Floridian, he made his radio debut at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, where he graduated with a degree in Radio-Television in 1997. At the college’s WUCF 89.9 FM, he served as News Director and Music Host. He moved to Savannah to work for GPB in 1998 and since then, his reporting has been recognized on many occasions by the Georgia Associated Press Broadcast Association. Orlando also is a licensed tour guide in the City of Savannah. An avid music fan, he has published a weekly music chart since 1992.

Melissa Stiers

Melissa Stiers joined GPB’s radio news team as an intern in Summer 2007. She continues as a producer for Morning Edition and the Georgia Gazette and a free-lance reporter. She was an educator for immigrant communities, teaching English as a Second Language, before receiving her Masters in Professional Writing from Kennesaw State University. Melissa also brings a background in the literary and performing arts. She is a flamenco dancer and published poet.

Philip Graitcer

Philip Graitcer is an Atlanta-based independent radio producer and co- producer of GPB's Health Desk. Graitcer's features have appeared on Georgia Gazette, NPR's Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World, and Studio360.

More biographies and photos coming soon!