Kevin Richert, the Idaho Press Club's vice president, is editorial page editor at the Idaho Statesman. He is the Statesman's lead editorial writer, focusing on state and local issues. He also writes a daily blog, and writes a twice-weekly column on Idaho politics.

A 25-year veteran of Idaho journalism, Kevin worked as a reporter and editor in Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls before he was hired as the Statesman's editorial page editor in April 2001.

Kevin is a native of Long Island, New York and a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Kevin and his wife Chris live in Boise and have two sons. An aspiring novelist and a mediocre guitarist, Kevin also enjoys mountain biking, sports and adding to his music library.

Deanna Darr is the features editor for the Boise Weekly, a position that allows her to focus on in-depth writing while exploiting her organizational skills to oversee all special sections and projects for the paper.

Prior to coming to BW, 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 from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University longer ago than she cares to admit.

Sydney Sallabanks is Director of Public Relations at Stoltz Marketing Group. Her particular expertise is in media relations, crisis mitigation, public affairs, strategic communications, campaigns and signature events.  Sydney is president of the Idaho delegation of the Public Relations Society of America. She serves as lobbyist for the Idaho Press Club.

She is a longstanding volunteer with local charitable organizations including Junior League Boise and Big Brother/Big Sister. A graduate of Leadership Boise, Sydney has also been honored as “Woman of the Year” by the Idaho Business Review and recognized as one of Boise’s “Accomplished Under 40." She is a graduate of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism.

On her off hours, she can be found cooking, mountain biking and enjoying time with her husband and their daughter.

You can reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Joan Cartan-Hansen is the leader producer/host for “D4K”, co-producer/host of “Dialogue” 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 in the late 1980s to the mid 1990s and has been on a regional or state board of the Idaho Press Club since 1984.  Joan is the Idaho Representative to the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences NW chapter and is on the executive committee for the Idaho Capitol Correspondents Association. 

She sits on the Idaho Supreme Court’s Media/Courts Committee and is a member of the Idaho Supreme Court’s Fire Brigade, a group called in to help mediate bench/press conflicts.  Joan has won a number of awards including several regional Emmys, gold medals at the New York Festivals, CINE Golden Eagles and numbers Idaho Press Club awards.  The National Education Association and the Council on State Governments have also honored Joan for her educational projects.  A native of Idaho, she is married with two children.

Natalie Hurst came to KBOI 2News in September of 2005 and she co-anchors the 4, 5, 5:30 and 10 p.m. news. She also anchors the 9 p.m. news on the CBS affiliate's retro-programming station, KYUU.

Natalie is a 1991 graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University with a double major in print journalism and French. She also earned her master's degree in broadcast journalism in 1999 from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

An avid fan of writing, Natalie began her career at Eagle Newspapers in Syracuse, New York where she was a reporter and editor for the weekly newspapers. Natalie later worked for the PBS affiliate, WCNY-TV, in the Educational Services Department. Natalie has also worked as a national correspondent on Capitol Hill for WDAY-TV in Fargo, North Dakota through the Medill News Service and KNDO-TV in Yakima, Washington as both an anchor and reporter. She most recently worked as the morning anchor at WFRV-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

When Natalie is not anchoring the news, you'll find her skiing the Bogus Basin slopes, biking the Greenbelt or paddling the Payette River.

Allen R. Derr, Attorney at Law and is a native Idahoan  He is a founding member of the Idaho Press Club and a longtime Idaho Press Club Director.

Allen graduated with degrees in journalism and law from the University of Idaho.   He has worked as a reporter, editor during his extensive career and is a nationally published author of articles on law and an article on journalism and courtroom photography.

Allen started  his private practice of law at Boise, Idaho, 1960 and is still going full time.  He has the great distinction of having argued and won Reed v. Reed, 92 Supreme Court 251, in 1971. This was the first successful sex discrimination case in the history of our country in the U.S. Supreme Court.

He originated and chaired the Public Information Committee of the Idaho State Bar in 1997, designed to help the general public better understand the positive role law and lawyers play in our society.  This committee founded and developed the highly successful Citizen's Law Academy which began in 2000 and is expanding statewide.

Allen is the recipient of the Professionalism Award, Idaho State Bar, 2002; ACLU of Idaho Freedom Award. 2002 and University of Idaho Alumni Association Hall of Fame Award, 2005.

Carol Ryan Dumas began her career in journalism in Arkansas in the late
1980s. She's served as editor of three weekly publications and as a
consultant for a start-up monthly magazine. She has also done freelance
writing and photography for several state, regional and national
publications. One of the casualties of the economy and media fallout, she
was laid off from her longtime position as editor of Ag Weekly in February
2010 - Friday, the 13th, coincidentally. After freelancing for a bit, she
resurfaced as a field reporter with Capital Press, headquartered in Salem,
Ore. She now works from her home in Twin Falls.

A board member of the Idaho Press Club since the early 1990s, she is a past
IPC president. She is a longtime board member and president of the Southern
Idaho Livestock Hall of Fame, past chairman and longtime member of the Twin
Falls Chamber agribusiness committee, and past board member of the Eastern
Idaho Agricultural Hall of Fame. She has received numerous journalism and
civic awards throughout her career.

Carol has three sons and two grandbabies and hails from a large Irish family
in New Orleans.

Elizabeth Duncan is News Director at Boise State Radio. Duncan has an extensive journalism background having spent 13 years as a primary television news anchor in various markets around the United States including Laredo, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Columbia, South Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Duncan began her journalism career as a writer and researcher for CNN's Larry King Live in Washington, D. C. and went on to become an award-winning television anchor.

The first thing Elizabeth did when she drove in to Boise 8 years ago was pull over and find the local NPR station on the dial. "If you love to read and you love to write - journalism is an excellent fit," Duncan says. "The type of journalism produced by NPR - both locally and nationally is the kind or reporting the world needs more of ." Duncan grew up in Queensland Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism with a double Minor in English and Sociology from Texas Woman's University.

Melissa McGrath is the Communications Director for the Idaho State Department of Education.  Prior to joining the Department in 2007, Melissa worked as a print journalist for several publications in Maryland and Idaho, including the Idaho Statesman. Melissa has degrees in Journalism and Government from the University of Maryland. 

While she remains a die-hard Terrapin fan, Melissa enjoys being back in the Boise area where she grew up. She currently serves as an associate representative on the board for the Idaho Press Club and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .