Idaho Press Club Board Members

Melissa Davlin is host and lead producer of Idaho Reports on Idaho Public Television. Davlin also produces for IdahoPTV’s history documentary series, Idaho Experience. She previously worked at the Twin Falls Times-News, where she covered politics, human interest stories, and refugee resettlement.

Davlin has won multiple awards for her work, including a regional Emmy for her documentary on Chinese immigration in the northwest, the 2019 … [Read more...]

I cover politics and a bit of everything else for Boise State Public Radio. As a Lewiston native and University of Idaho graduate, I have strong feelings about which parts of the state count as "North Idaho." Outside of watching public meetings, you can find me fishing, making cool things out of leather, or watching the Seattle Mariners' latest rebuilding season. 

Betsy Russell retired Jan. 1, 2023 as the Boise bureau chief and state government and politics reporter for the Idaho Press. She is the former longtime president of the Idaho Press Club, and is also president and a founding board member of Idahoans for Openness in Government (IDOG). A graduate of the University of California-Berkeley, she holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Russell worked for the Idaho Press for five years, and previously worked for nearly 27 years for The Spokesman-Review, including five … [Read more...]

Joan Cartan-Hansen is the leader producer/host for “Science Trek,” “Idaho Science Journal” and producer/reporter/writer for “Outdoor Idaho.”  In addition, she writes and produces a number of documentaries and occasionally contributes to the “PBS NewsHour.”  She served as president of the Idaho Press Club and has been on a regional or state board of the Idaho Press Club since 1984.  Joan is the President of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences NW chapter, a Trustee to the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is on … [Read more...]

Emily Carmela Nelson is a passionate student journalist from Boise, Idaho. She was named Editor-in-Chief of The Arbiter, Boise State University’s independent newspaper, in a unanimous vote by the Student Media Publication Board in April of 2025.

Nelson is a proud alumna of Voces Internship of Idaho, an equity-driven internship program thatprovides Latino Idahoans with professional experience within Idaho newsrooms. She … [Read more...]

Lisa Chavez was named the Director of Content for the KTVB News Group in 2018.

She oversees the team of journalists, hiring, content, editorial decisions, and coverage plans for KTVB, [Read more...]

Cordell Chigbrow is a CPA and co-owner at Chigbrow Ryan Murata in Boise, Idaho.  He specializes in tax compliance and financial reporting for small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals in Idaho.  Cordell has served on many nonprofit boards over the years and takes a special interest in helping nonprofit organizations manage their tax and financial lives.

Cordell is a native of Boise, Idaho and a 1995 graduate of College … [Read more...]

Chadd Cripe

Chadd Cripe has been the editor of the Idaho Statesman in Boise since 2021. He joined the Statesman in 1996 as a copy desk intern and never left. He spent 20 years in sports, including 14 years as the Boise State football beat reporter and stints as the outdoors reporter, sports editor/columnist and assistant editor. He also co-authored a book, "Blue Magic," chronicling the Boise State football program's historic 2006 … [Read more...]

Deanna Darr is a communications professional and former journalist. Before leaving daily journalism, she worked as a reporter at papers in Boise, Idaho, Bend, Ore. and Jackson, Wyo., covering everything from government, public lands, environmental issues, outdoor recreation, arts, music and theater.

She earned her degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University longer ago than she cares to admit.

Don Day is the co-founder and editor of Elevate 208 Media, which operates local news sites BoiseDev and Valley Lookout.  He has worked in local news in Idaho since 1999. He is a Stanford University John S. Knight Fellow, and lives in Boise with his wife Kara, their son and two dogs. 

Audrey is a reporter for ProPublica and chairs the Press Club's training committee.

Audrey is originally from Twin Falls. She went to college in St. Paul, Minnesota, then took a job at a mental health clinic specializing in issues related to sex and gender. The people she met there inspired her first big story as a freelance writer — a feature on the Twin Cities transgender community — and she realized she wanted to do journalism forever. She got a master’s degree from Columbia University’s journalism school and moved to … [Read more...]

Zach Hagadone is editor-in-chief of the Sandpoint Reader, which he co-founded in 2004 and later returned to under different ownership. He spent several years as a journalist in Boise, including stints as an Associated Press weekend staffer, reporter at the Idaho Business Review, and business editor and  editor-in-chief of the Boise Weekly. He has freelanced for papers and magazines in North Idaho and eastern Washington, while his work has appeared in … [Read more...]

Luke is a founding attorney and co-owner at Smith + Malek. He practices in the areas of business, healthcare and municipal law, including transactions and litigation. He strives to make the world a better place in all he does.

Luke was raised in northern Idaho and attended the College of Idaho in Caldwell, graduating in 2004. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Luke worked for the Office of the Governor as the Regional Director in Northern Idaho … [Read more...]

Tom Michael is General Manager of Boise State Public Radio, which he joined as its director in July 2016. In February 2018 he launched the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration of six public media organizations across five states, and serves as its managing director. In April 2018 he launched "Idaho Matters," a weekday public affairs program, and serves as its executive producer. Tom has more than a decade of experience in public media … [Read more...]