Idaho Press Club Board Members

Betsy Russell is the Boise bureau chief and state government and politics reporter for the Idaho Press, and also writes the “Eye on Boise” blog (and has since 2004). She is the current president of the Idaho Press Club, and is also president and a founding board member of Idahoans for Openness in Government (IDOG).

She is a graduate of the University of California-Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She has been with the Idaho Press since 2018, and previously worked for nearly 27 years for … [Read more...]

Melissa Davlin is a writer and producer for Idaho Public Television and host of Idaho Reports. Davlin also produces for IPTV'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, including an Emmy for her documentary on Chinese immigration in the northwest, the 2018 Broadcast Reporter of the Year from the Idaho Press Club, and the 2019 Enhancing Public Discourse Award from Boise … [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...]

Deanna Darr is the former features editor for the Boise Weekly, where she focused on in-depth writing while exploiting her organizational skills to oversee all special sections and projects for the paper. Prior to coming to Boise, Deanna worked as a reporter at papers in Bend, Ore. and Jackson, Wyo., covering everything from government, public lands, environmental issues, outdoor recreation, arts, music and theater. Deanna was started at Boise Weekly in 2007, after more than a decade away from Idaho. She earned her degree in journalism … [Read more...]

J Bates is the News Director for Idaho News 6, the ABC affiliates for the Boise and Twin Falls markets. Bates spent over 20 years on air before moving into leadership at the station. He is a proud graduate of Weber State University where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He has a master’s degree in Communication and Leadership from Gonzaga University and taught Media Arts at the College of Western Idaho for four years.

Rebecca Boone is the supervisory correspondent for the Associated Press in Idaho. She is a University of Idaho alumna and began her journalism career in 1999 at the Lewiston Tribune. She later moved to Boise, where she became an AP newswoman in 2002, before being promoted to supervisory correspondent in 2014. Boone serves on the Idaho Supreme Court’s Media/Courts Committee, the University of Idaho’s School of Journalism and Mass Media advisory board and was a Loyola Journalist Law School fellow in 2012. Her work has also been honored with … [Read more...]

Don Day is the founder and editor of BoiseDev, a local news site dedicated to growth, business and general local news.  He spent 17 years at KTVB-TV in a variety of roles, including in news and in sales leadership.  He is a Stanford University John S. Knight Fellow, and lives in Boise with his wife Kara and dogs Dora and Lola.

Audrey is a reporter on the Idaho Statesman's watchdog team and is president of the Press Club's Southwest Chapter.

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. The people she met there inspired her first big story -- 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...]

Ryan Hawes is the News Director at KBOI/KYUU in Boise, Idaho. Ryan joined Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2016. Ryan began his career at KIMA-TV in Yakima, WA in 1999. He also worked at stations in Portland, Oregon and Nashville, Tennessee. Ryan began his career as a teleprompter operator and moved up the producing ranks before taking on newsroom leadership roles. Ryan and his wife Danielle have a four-year-old daughter. … [Read more...]

John is a retired Federal natural resources technical writer/editor, a position in which he "primarily translated and edited government reports into English." A Vietnam veteran, his career included stints as editor of weekly newspapers, news director for public radio stations, television producer/reporter covering the Alaska Legislature, lobbyist for non-profit organizations, and manager of bookstores. He currently serves on the School of Journalism and Mass Media advisory board of the University of Idaho (his alma mater). In the early '90s, … [Read more...]

Scott McIntosh is opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman, a position he took over in August 2019.

He has been in the Treasure Valley since 2006, when he and his wife, Nicola, purchased the Kuna Melba News.

In the five years of owning the newspaper, Scott and Nicola nearly tripled the newspaper’s circulation, launched new monthly and annual publications and, along the way, won 15 awards from the Idaho Press Club and 12 … [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...]

Benjamin Reed is the Program Director, Spanish Language Brand Manager, and News Director for 99.1 La Perrona, LatinX and formerly La Patrona and La Fantástica 970 in Idaho. He also programs KYJJ Boardman, Oregon and KYOZ, Spokane, Washington (which covers northern Idaho).  His only English job is with KART AM at night. 

Reed is an Idaho native and longtime Idaho journalist. His hobbies include being a ham radio operator, radio DXing, … [Read more...]

Sydney Sallabanks is communications manager at the law firm of Perkins Coie LLP, where she works in strategic communications and client relations. Her corporate communications experience includes media relations, crisis management, executive messaging, change management and employee engagement. A graduate of Leadership Boise, Sydney has also been awarded “Woman of the Year” by the Idaho Business Review and recognized as one of Boise’s “Accomplished Under 40.” Sydney has been a member of Junior League Boise for 20 years and has previously served … [Read more...]