Core Staff
Richard Watts, Executive Director
Richard is a former journalist and political campaign manager who now teaches courses in journalism and public policy at the University of Vermont. He is the co-director of the Reporting & Documentary Storytelling Program, directs the Center for Research on Vermont, and manages media internships for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Meg Little Reilly, Managing Director
Meg has been working at the intersection of civics, journalism, and higher education for more than twenty years. Previously, she served in the U.S. White House and Department of the Treasury under President Barack Obama. She led communications at Convergence Center for Policy Resolution and has been a speechwriter to several university presidents. Meg began her career in public radio. She is a regular Forbes contributor. (Margaret.Little-Reilly@uvm.edu)
Hannah Kirkpatrick, Research Director
Hannah earned her BA and MA in History from the University of Vermont. Her recent historical research is on gender and sainthood in the Middle Ages. She has previously worked with the Vermont Historical Society, the Fleming Museum, and Writing In The Disciplines at UVM. Hannah specializes in research and multimedia content creation for nonprofits and higher education programs.
Greta Solsaa, Outreach Coordinator
Greta Solsaa graduated from UVM in spring of 2023. While at UVM, Greta interned as environmental reporter for the Community News Service, covering stories related to environmental policy in Vermont. Greta has a background in activism and politics as she has previously worked for Senator Leahy’s office, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Amnesty International USA, and the Peace & Justice Center. Greta is originally from Rutland, Vermont, and she loves painting, playing music, and spending time in nature.
Savannah Arciaga, Research Assistant
Savannah is a sophomore Linguistics & Global Studies double major. She is from Catonsville, MD and loves being able to help the team gather information about News-Academic Partnerships across the country!
Staff Collaborators
Amanda Bright, Faculty Resources Coordinator
Amanda is the Director of Journalism Innovation Lab, Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, and managing editor of Newsource. She assistant editor of the Oglethorpe Echo at the University of Georgia, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Amanda coordinates faculty resources, individual mentoring and the CCN slack channel. (amanda.bright@uga.edu)
Amelia Canney, Web Intern
Amelia is a fourth-year English student at UVM, pursuing minors in Computer Science and Astronomy. She has previously interned with the Waterbury Roundabout through the Community News Service, and interned for her high school updating their website.
Scott Finn, Manager Public Media/University Collaborations
Scott is the former CEO and President of Vermont Public and West Virginia Public Radio. He has worked at public radio stations in Florida and Connecticut and as a reporter at the Charlestown Gazette. Scott manages CCN’s efforts to increase collaborations between university-licensed public radio stations and university reporting programs (scott.finn@uvm.edu)
Tasia Karoutsos
Tasia Karoutsos is a digital communications expert with a passion for community building. She has led communications, digital and social media strategy at several national nonprofits including Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, and CEDA. (Tasia.Karoutsos@uvm.edu)
Siobhan Neela-Stock, Writer and Editor, Winooski News
Siobhan is a freelance writer who has been published in Mashable, the New York Times, Fortune and other publications and writes case studies for CCN and is the Editor of the Winooski News. (Siobhan.Neela-Stock@uvm.edu)
Justin Trombly, Editor
Justin Trombly is the editor of UVM's Community News Service a program of the Center for Community News. He coordinates with media partners, workshops stories with student reporters and helps build CNS' effort to strengthen Vermont journalism. He's been a reporter at VTDigger, the Tampa Bay Times, the Buffalo News and local papers in upstate New York.