Professional Experience

2016 to present: Investigative reporter, WINK News. Previously worked as a producer at KPRC-TV in Houston, WKMG-TV in Orlando and WINK News.

Awards & Recognition

  • Florida Associated Press Finalist for Investigative Reporting, 2018
  • Suncoast Regional Emmy Nominee for Crime News, 2017
  • Lonestar Emmy Awards, winner for Best Investigative Story, nominee for Best Business/Consumer Story, 2016.
  • Houston Press Club, first place for TV Consumer News, 2016.
  • Texas Associated Press Broadcasters, second place for news series, 2016.
  • National Press Club Award, third place for investigative reporting, 2012.
  • IRE/NICAR, Holly Wisenhunt Stephen Fellowship recipient, 2011.
  • Suncoast Emmy Awards, winner for Crime Story, 2008. Five-time nominee, 2010 - 2014.
  • Edward R Murrow Awards, 2008 and 2009 regional winner for Investigative Reporting.

Hobbies, Interests & Community Service

Cooking, fitness, running, yoga, scrapbooking,  reading the New York Times' travel section, dreaming about places to travel and sometimes going there, watching my husband golf, taking the dog to the beach, rooting for the Steelers and Nittany Lions, and spoiling my nieces and little ‘sister’. I'm also a Big Brothers & Big Sister mentor, volunteer at PACE school for girls and WGCU's radio reading for blind and visually impaired.

Education

Penn State University

Likes best about Southwest Florida

"The people."

Birthplace

Western Pennsylvania.

Are clinics cashing in on COVID-19 testing with upfront fees?

While staying in Naples for the winter, Margaret Sheahan and her mother Mary Beth found themselves in a dilemma all too common during 2020: they were exposed to COVID-19 and needed a test before potentially exposing more members of their family. When they showed up at Well-Being Medical Center they were asked to pay $150 […]

Teen tased: Did state trooper violate policy?

The mother of a teenager who was tased by an FHP trooper last week has hired an attorney to help fight the arrest she says happened because of racial profiling. Sixteen-year-old Jack Rodeman was arrested by Trooper George Smyrnios on June 16 and is currently being held at the Juvenile Assessment Center for 21 days. […]

Internal memo: FBI alleges Fort Myers police officer engaged in misconduct

A Fort Myers police officer is on paid leave after allegations by the FBI that he engaged in misconduct. Jason Jackson returned to work on April 6 after being on paid administrative leave for four years due to allegations stemming from an audit of the Fort Myers Police Department. The allegations were investigated by the […]

Fort Myers police Officer Jason Jackson back on leave

A Fort Myers police officer that returned to work after four years on administrative leave has once again been placed on leave. Officer Jason Jackson returned to duty full-time on April 6, 2021, after a federal investigation failed to turn up criminal charges against Jackson and three other officers who retired while they were under […]

Woman’s health insurance paid another person’s bills for three years

If there was ever a lesson in why you should read your insurance statements: this is it. Mary Godfrey said she is very diligent about reviewing all of her explanation of benefits summaries from Florida Blue, and in 2018 something jumped off the page. There were claims paid to a podiatrist and a physician’s assistant […]

Mother says her son’s murder was retaliation

The mother of a man murdered on Mother’s Day morning on one of Southwest Florida’s busiest bridges said her son was killed as a direct result of his name showing up in documents related to a 2016 mass shooting. Jadwin “JC” Carrion was found shot to death inside a vehicle on Cape Coral’s Midpoint Bridge […]

Man slain on Midpoint Bridge was a 2016 Club Blu shooting target

The WINK News investigative team connected the dots between a recent murder on the Midpoint Bridge in Cape Coral to the 2016 Club Blue shooting in Fort Myers. Just after midnight Saturday, May 10, Jadwin Lebronze Carrion, 24, was shot and killed on one of Southwest Florida’s busiest bridges. It turns out, Carrion is named […]

Did reopening schools impact COVID-19 cases spread among kids?

Florida made headlines around the nation and world for mandating that schools provide in-person instruction during the middle of a pandemic. At a press conference outside Jacksonville Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Secretary Richard Corcoran boasted that this was the right decision for Florida’s children. “Florida was the leader hands down, no question,” Corcoran […]

Plagued by drug shortages? There’s an online tool for that

Gasoline and toilet paper aren’t the only things that have been in short supply this year …Prescription drug shortages continue to plague people who rely on those drugs to live a normal, healthy life. One man we spoke to said he couldn’t get his stomach medicine until July. If you found yourself in a situation […]

Is the Healthcare.gov marketplace finally “affordable?”

Since March, millions of people have gone to the Healthcare.gov exchange to take advantage of expanded government subsidies during a special enrollment period opened up to help during the pandemic. When the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) passed it did not just provide stimulus checks, it also expanded the affordability of health insurance plans purchased through […]