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Jessica Bakeman reports on K-12 and higher education for WLRN, south Florida's NPR affiliate. While new to Miami and public radio, Jessica is a seasoned journalist who has covered education policymaking and politics in three state capitals: Jackson, Miss.; Albany, N.Y.; and, most recently, Tallahassee.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R

Shaun Ranft is a writer living in Milwaukee, Wis. He wrote for and managed the online sports publication The Sports Post, and is a sports contributor for Lake Effect. However, now that the sports website came to an end, Ranft is getting back to his more creative writing side as a poetry contributor. When he isn't at his day job, Ranft finds time each day to scribble something down and eventually workshop it into a poem.

Elizabeth Harball is a reporter with Alaska’s Energy Desk, covering Alaska’s oil and gas industry and environmental policy. She is a contributor to the Energy Desk’s Midnight Oil podcast series. Before moving to Alaska in 2016, Harball worked at E&E News in Washington, D.C., where she covered federal and state climate change policy. Originally from Kalispell, Montana, Harball is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Maia Stern is a video producer at NPR Music. She primarily produces Tiny Desk concerts.

Chris comes to KCUR as part of Guns & America, a reporting collaboration between 10 public media stations that is focused on the role of guns in American life. Hailing from Springfield, Illinois, Chris has lived in seven states and four counties. He previously served in the Army, and reported for newspapers in Kansas and Michigan. Chris lives in downtown Kansas City. He roots for St. Louis sports teams, which means he no longer cares about the NFL.

Laura Smitherman is Deputy National Editor for NPR News. She oversees breaking news and enterprise reporting from the eastern half of the United States, and she is the lead editor on immigration coverage. The National Desk covers the biggest issues facing the nation in collaboration with member stations around the country. Our reporters cover a range of beats, including national security, climate, race and identity, gender, criminal justice, state government and addiction.