WBBM Staff

Susan Berkes
Traffic Reporter

Susan Berkes is a Traffic Reporter for WBBM Newsradio 780, and has done work as a producer in the newsroom. She did her undergraduate work at University of Illinois, and received her Master’s Degree from DePaul University.
Before arriving at WBBM, Susan’s versatility allowed her to serve as news and traffic anchor at WGN-AM, and as traffic reporter at both WGN-TV and CLTV. She’s been heard reporting news and traffic on WCPT and WSHE. At Fox Sports Radio/WBIG she served as a morning drive fill-in and co-host of “Food for Thought.”
Susan is also a freelance reporter for The Chicago Star. She has written about various Chicago topics and contributes to ongoing features.

She also enjoys serving non-for-profit public television.

Dave Berner
Saturday Mornings 4a-noon

Dave Berner has been a broadcast journalist for more than 40 years. He has been with WBBM as an anchor and reporter since 2003. The Pennsylvania native made Chicago his home in 1988 when he joined the WMAQ news staff after working at WWSW in Pittsburgh for ten years. He also has produced documentaries and published several award-winning books of memoir and fiction. Dave has also been honored as the Writer-in-Residence at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home in Oak Park, Illinois and is an associate professor in the Radio Program at Columbia College Chicago.

Geoff Buchholz
WBBM Political Editor

Geoff Buchholz is a Peabody-, Murrow- and Emmy-award-winning journalist who’s spent nearly three decades observing and covering politicians and elections in Chicago and Illinois. He has produced Election Night coverage for WBBM Newsradio 105.9 since joining the station in 2012, and served in a similar role at Chicago’s WFLD-TV during his 12 years there as an executive producer and senior manager. He and his husband Andrew live in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood.

Jan Coleman
Weekend Overnight 9p-5a

Cisco Cotto
WBBM Morning News 5 - 10am

Cisco Cotto joined the WBBM Newsradio staff in September of 2014.

The Aurora native has spent his entire radio career in Illinois. It includes WBYS in Canton, WIUM in Macomb, and WMAQ, WLS, WIND, and WMBI in Chicago. He has received awards for his work from the Associated Press, Chicagoland AIR Awards, Radio and Television News Director’s Association, Chicago Headline Club, and the International Association of Firefighters.
Cisco is a graduate of Aurora Christian High School, Western Illinois University and Moody Theological Seminary. He is married with three children and lives in the western suburbs.

Andy Dahn

Andy Dahn grew up in Aurora, Illinois and attended Waubonsie Valley High School. With dreams of being a teacher, he continued his education at Illinois State University, where he joined WZND, the student radio station on campus. Covering news around Central Illinois and ISU athletics inspired him to pursue a career in journalism, and also led to his first job in broadcasting, working as a reporter and anchor at WJBC Radio in Bloomington. In 2015, he was awarded the Vicki Lynn Kelley Scholarship for Excellence in Journalism, and the Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Award for Outstanding Radio Story.

After earning his Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism in May of 2016, Andy returned to the western suburbs and joined WBBM Newsradio as a reporter and anchor later that month. In his first year with the station, he was fortunate to cover the Chicago Cubs first World Series in over 100 years, as well as the 2016 presidential election. Working at the station he grew up listening to has been a dream come true for Andy, who is honored to be a part of the WBBM team!
When he's not reporting or anchoring, you'll likely find Andy at a concert (Chicago-based Wilco is his all-time favorite), watching Netflix (probably The Office or Stranger Things...again) or eating pizza somewhere.

Beau Duran
Morning Drive Traffic Reporter

A 25-year radio professional, Beau Duran spent the early part of his career at some of the most prominent radio stations on the West Coast. He moved to Chicago in 2010 to pursue his dream of being on the air in the greatest city in the country. Shortly thereafter he joined the traffic team at WBBM, working his way up from weekends to become the morning traffic anchor.

In his spare time, he enjoys going to baseball games on both the North and South side, fostering rescue dogs and enjoying a craft beer on a patio whenever the Chicago weather will allow it.

Trent Erikson

With 30 years of experience in radio and television, Trent has a rich history in the industry. He's spent a decade as a traffic anchor in Chicago at WBBM and has held prominent roles as Director of Music, Programming, and Operations. His career also includes hosting numerous morning and afternoon drive programs for stations in Dallas, St. Louis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, and more.

Some of Trent's film work includes appearing alongside Antonio Banderas, Meg Ryan, Selma Blair and Collin Hanks, among others. Notably, he created and hosted "Uncovering Chicago," a local television show as well as a local Fox television project and was a cast member on national CBS and NBC TV programs.
Trent has worked for many years with charities such as Tickled Pink, the Susan B Coleman Foundation and the Chicago Humane Society.

Lisa Fielding

Lisa Fielding is an anchor and reporter for Newsradio 780. She brings three decades of news and sports, radio and television broadcasting experience to WBBM.

A graduate of Bradley University and a multiple award-winning journalist, Lisa began her career as an intern and reporter for WEEK-TV, the NBC affiliate in Peoria, then moved on to work for WROK-WZOK radio. In 1995, it was back to television journalism as the weekend anchor for WIFR-TV in Rockford. At the same time, she did some fill-in work as one of the first female voices on Chicago’s new all-sports station “The Score”. In 1999, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin to be the main anchor and executive producer for the brand new Fox 47 News at Nine and was able to travel to the Rose Bowl and to the Final Four with the Wisconsin Badgers.

Before coming to WBBM, she most recently served as main anchor of WVTV-WB 18 News at Nine in Milwaukee. She also spent seven years in minor league baseball as one of the few female public address announcers in the country and even was a contender to succeed Wayne Messmer as the public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs. She was featured in Baseball America and in several books about minor league baseball. Over the years, her work has been recognized by the Associated Press, The Chicago Headline Club, Illinois Broadcasters Association & The Radio, Television News Directors Association.

In addition to her duties as anchor and reporter at WBBM, she was an adjunct graduate instructor for the Advanced Video Production/TV Reporting class at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Chicago campus for 12 years and sits on the Program Advisory Committee of the Illinois Media School.

Lisa is a native of the Chicago area and grew up in Lake Zurich. She's an avid Cubs fan, and a chronic traveler and photographer. She even published a coffee table book with her travel photos. Lisa believes strongly in giving back and getting involved in her community. She is an emcee, fundraiser and volunteer for many Chicagoland organizations like the Wood Family Foundation, The Respiratory Health Association, The Y Me Breast Cancer Chicago Chapter, The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, The Jackson Chance Foundation & is the annual host of the North Suburban YMCA's Strong Kids Gala, emcees the annual Arts in the Dark Parade, and the Giordano Dance Dancing with the Stars Gala and sits on the ambassador board of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum & Hall of Fame. She's a member of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association & the Association of Women Journalists.

She anchors afternoon drive and is a general assignment reporter but specializes in sports, arts & culture and health and human interest stories. She is also the host of the Audacy podcast "Backstage Chicago" that focuses on arts and culture. A career highlight at Newsradio was covering the Chicago Cubs on the road for the 2016 World Series in Cleveland.

Neil Fiorito
Afternoon Drive Traffic Reporter

Neil Fiorito is WBBM Newsradio's Afternoon Traffic Anchor. Also, he is a part-time Radio Instructor at the Illinois Media School Chicago O'Hare campus. Neil began his radio career in 1991 at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. He then trained and graduated the Conservatory Program at The Second City Chicago Improv and followed that with the diploma program at the Illinois Center for Broadcasting. For over three decades, Neil has made a career in both the hospitality and radio industry and is proud to say that he has worked in Chicagoland his entire radio career.

Neil really enjoys getting into the studio (very early) to annoy Morning Traffic Anchor, Beau Duran.

Carolina Garibay

Carolina is a recent journalism graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she worked for the student newspaper and radio station. She was also an early member of U of I's Illinois Student Newsroom, where she worked as a reporter and senior producer at the local NPR affiliate Illinois Public Media/WILL. In Champaign she reported on a variety of issues and topics including women's issues, health disparities, and education. In May 2022, she competed in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program's National Audio Championship in San Francisco where she won second place.

Carolina was born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago, and she's thrilled to be back reporting in a city that she knows and loves. She's looking forward to bringing her passions for radio and storytelling to WBBM and exploring the rich stories the city has to offer. When she's not reporting or in the studio, she's trying out new restaurants, checking out what's showing on Broadway in Chicago, or hanging out with friends.

Andy Giersher
Noon Business Hour Producer and Newsroom Coordinator

Listen to every episode of the podcast Gains with Andy Giersher here.

Hayley Hansen

Hayley Hansen started as an anchor/reporter for WBBM in 2024 after moving back to her home state of Illinois. While completing her BA in journalism at the University of Kentucky, she worked at her campus radio station, WRFL, as well as Lexington’s community radio station, RADIOLEX. Hayley later found a home at WHAS radio in Louisville, KY where she not only worked as an anchor/reporter, but also co-hosted a weeknight show. During her years as a journalist, she has covered countless political campaigns, civil unrest, crime, arts & entertainment and more. When the “On Air” sign is off, you’ll find Hayley belting along to showtunes, drinking coffee and obsessing over her houseplants.

Nancy Harty
Reporter

Nancy has reported on a wide variety of stories since joining Newsradio 780 in 2006. From the Lane Bryant shootings to Black Friday protests on Michigan Avenue to the sentencing of former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert, she has enjoyed a front-row seat to some of Chicago's most interesting events.

"While there's nothing quite like the excitement of breaking news, it can be just as interesting to talk to regular Chicagoans about the small things that bind us together", she says.
Born and raised in Illinois, Nancy graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received her master's degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield. She worked at WDCB and the Illinois Radio Network before coming to WBBM. She lives with her husband and sons in the suburbs.
Follow Nancy on Twitter @newsnance

Sarah Herrera

Sarah Herrera has been an anchor and reporter for WBBM Newsradio since 2023. Previously, she worked at other Chicago television and radio outlets, as well as in the sunbaked borderlands of Arizona, where she covered immigration during President Trump's first term. She's gained multiple skills along the way, becoming a versatile journalist who can shoot, write and edit across platforms.

Raised on the city's North Side, Sarah's work has been featured on the national stage with work featured on CNN and NBC Nightly News. Her career has also given her the opportunity to to report across Latin America and the Middle East, which has given her a healthy appetite for travel. She's particularly interested in covering stories related to immigration and loves utilizing her investigative skills whenever possible.
A DePaul graduate, Sarah can often be found exploring Chicago history or chasing her next story.

Brandon Ison
Reporter

Brandon Ison came to WBBM Newsradio in 2019 as a reporter. Before coming to Chicago, he had worked as an anchor/reporter for Portland, OR News Talker KXL-FM.

First cracking the mic in 1996 at KXDD-FM Yakima, WA his radio career spans four decades and four states with additional work at KZMG-FM Boise, ID.
Brandon’s experience includes previous involvement in several nationally syndicated talk radio shows.
In Chicago, he enjoys spending his evenings at the city’s many live jazz clubs or simply being involved in discussions with residents and business owners on the issues that most directly impact them.

Mike Krauser
Mornings, 530a-130p

Mike Krauser has been a reporter, anchor, producer, writer, managing editor and news director during a career that started in Chicago in the late 1980’s. His first love is reporting.

“Telling stories on the radio,” he said, “doesn’t feel like work at all. It’s pure fun.” Mike got his start in radio in 1988 at the upstart all-news station WMAQ (670-AM). He anchored the afternoon news on “Chicago’s Finest Rock, WXRT (93.1 FM) and spent about 10 years in management before returning to reporting. His reports on WBBM Newsradio 780 can be heard throughout the day.

Josh Liss
WBBM Morning News 5 a.m. - noon

Skokie native Josh Liss has been the sports director and morning sports anchor at WBBM since August of 1998. He studied broadcast journalism at Columbia College in Chicago, earning his degree in 1995.

While in college, Josh began his career producing and reporting for Sports Radio Nightly, an all-night sports network that aired on WVVX 103.1FM. In 1994 Josh began an internship at WMAQ 670-AM and worked his way up to full time afternoon drive sports anchor in 1995.
“I was an intern, a part-timer, then a full-timer working my way up with odd hours and miscellaneous assignments,” Liss said of his prior work at WMAQ. “I was fortunate to work with a marvelous cast of talent at ‘Q’; Lou Canellis, Jeff Joniak, Red Motlow, Steve Olken, Tom Greene, Brian Davis, Peggy Kusinski, Dave Pasch, Andrew Siciliano and others.”
Josh has won numerous awards during his career, including Associated Press, Illinois Broadcasters Association, and Peter Lisagor honors for sports anchoring and reporting.
Josh resides in Evanston with his wife and two sons.

Mai Martínez
Morning Anchor

Mai Martínez is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist with close to 30 years of experience. Before coming to WBBM as an anchor and reporter, Mai worked for 14 years at CBS 2 Chicago where she served as one of the station’s weekend evening anchors and general assignment reporters from 2006 until May of 2020. While at CBS 2, Martinez worked with and learned from legendary journalists including Bill Kurtis, Walter Jacobson, Harry Porterfield, John “Bulldog” Drummond, Mike Parker and Pam Zekman to name a few.

Martinez came to CBS 2 from FOX6 WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama where she gained international recognition for her coverage of the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Martínez often landed exclusive information and interviews and reported for both CNN and FOX NEWS Channel including live appearances on: Fox and Friends, Fox and Friends Weekend, Hannity & Colmes, The O’Reilly Factor, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Heartland with John Kasich, The Lineup, The Big Story, At Large with Geraldo Rivera, Anderson Cooper 360, and Nancy Grace.
Before making the jump to television news, Martínez also worked in newspaper and radio, including co-hosting mornings at WVOK-FM in 2000 in Oxford, Alabama. She says her journalism career was born out of her natural curiosity and her passion to help others, serve her community and most importantly, give a voice to those who feel helpless or unheard. Martínez credits her parents, immigrants from Cuba and Vietnam, for raising her to always help others and give back.

Brian Pecht
Traffic Reporter

Brian has worked on the radio in Chicago since 1992. His first station here was WKQX (Q 101) where he co-hosted mornings with former MTV veejay, Mark Goodman. In August 1996, Brian went on the air at WTMX (The Mix) and later shifted to sister station WSHE (SHE 100.3). He most recently hosted nights and Weekends at 94.7 WLS before coming here to WBBM.

Rachel Pierson

Rachel Pierson makes her radio debut as a reporter for WBBM Newsradio 780.

Born and raised in Naperville, she graduated from Neuqua Valley High School and earned her Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Communication in June of 2016 from North Central College. She is a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communications honor society.
Rachel started her television broadcast career in 2015 as a news reporter for Naperville Community Television. In 2016 she moved to Quincy, IL to be a weekend anchor and reporter at KHQA, the ABC affiliate, where she was later promoted to morning news anchor. Most recently, she was a morning news anchor at WICS, the CBS affiliate in Springfield.
In addition to her radio work, Rachel is also the Programming Director at Naperville Community Televison.

Roger Plummer

Chicago native Roger Plummer joined Newsradio WBBM as an Anchor/Writer in March 2017.
Roger is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago. He was the morning host for 11 years and the Program Manager for five years at WYLL Radio in Elk Grove Village. Roger also co-hosted “Back To Health Radio” for several years with renowned chiropractor Dr. J.R. Barone.
Roger is the Deacon Chairman at Holy Vessel Baptist Church in Chicago. He is married to his high school sweetheart Caterina, and they have three children.
Roger is an avid fan of Chicago sports teams, especially the White Sox and Bears.

Judson Richards

Judson joined WBBM in 2021 after spending a decade with XTRA 1360 in San Diego. There he performed Morning and Afternoon drive, hosted NFL pre and post game shows, sideline reporting, and coaches shows.

Prior to that Judson spent the 2010 season doing play-by-play for the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the Triple-A affiliate for the Texas Rangers.
Judson's career began in San Angelo, TX in 2008 where he worked for KLST-TV as a sports anchor, called MiLB for the San Angelo Colts, and worked in radio for Foster Communications.
A graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University (CA), Judson was the 1,000th pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2004. His love of baseball was passed down by his father, a Chicago native, and a die hard Cubs fan.
Judson lives in Naperville with his wife, Lauren and their young son. Lauren grew up in Joliet and is an alum of Joliet Catholic Academy. You may see them walking in downtown Naperville with their Great Dane, Peanut.

Abby Ryan
Evening Traffic Reporter

Evening Traffic reporter, Abby Ryan has spent her entire 25-year career in "Sweet Home Chicago". It all began when she took Radio & TV classes for fun at Thornridge High School in South Suburban Dolton, Illinois. Abby is grateful for her exposure to radio in H.S. and loves that she walked the same halls as TR's famous Alums, Actress Jane Lynch of Glee; NBA Basketball star Quinn Buckner & Chicago Sun-Times columnist and film critic Richard Roeper.

Over the last 2 decades, Abby has reported News and Traffic on several stations in Chicago and Northwest Indiana, and even hosted the after school program "Just For kids". Her gigs include Moody Radio; 106.7 The Fish; AM 1230 WJOB; Indiana 105; WLS & NPR. A listener once asked Abby "does every female traffic reporter in Chicago use Abby Ryan as their Alias?" To which Abbylaughed and replied "No, It's me; I have been on just about every station in this town!"
Abby enjoys the outdoors, cooking & making jewelry. She loves spending time with her husband, daughter and baby with fur.

Renita Young
News Anchor/ Reporter

Renita D. Young is an award-winning broadcast and digital journalist with nearly 20 years in the news business, covering business and financial markets for leading outlets including Bloomberg TV/Radio, Reuters TV, and Schwab Network. She has reported on crime, education, and politics, anchoring live breaking news and producing stories for digital platforms.

Beyond the newsroom, Young is a Les Brown–Certified speaker and an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she teaches multimedia storytelling. A former WBBM web producer, she’s excited to return in this new role and contribute her voice and vision to the station’s legacy of trusted reporting.

Mallory Vor Broker

Mallory Vor Broker is an anchor and reporter for WBBM Newsradio 780. She brings more than fifteen years of experience covering breaking news and politics. An award-winning journalist, before coming to WBBM, she most recently covered former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration as a political reporter. She also spent several years as an executive producer working with legendary Chicago broadcasters such as Steve Dahl, Roe Conn and John Howell. Before moving to Chicago to obtain a Master's degree in Journalism from Roosevelt University, Mallory went to Ohio University where she received a B.A. degree in English Creative Writing. Vor Broker's continued election night coverage remains a standout in her career.