Kathy came to radio by accident. She started out wanting to help a handful of dedicated volunteers produce a weekly environmental radio show, then got roped in as the volunteer executive producer. That was over 25 years ago. The volunteer gig ended in 2002, when The Allegheny Front received its first operating grant. Today, Kathy leads a team of award-winning journalists who report on environmental stories that impact the lives of the people in our region.
For many years, Kathy was an environmental scientist with a wastewater agency and worked at Carnegie Mellon University managing a water quality survey of Pittsburgh’s three rivers and multiple watersheds. She has a Master of Science in Environmental Health from the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh.
Julie Grant got her start in public radio at age 19 while at Miami University in Ohio. After studying land ethics in graduate school at Kent State University, Julie covered environmental issues in the Great Lakes region for Michigan Radio’s "The Environment Report" and North Country Public Radio in New York. She’s won many awards, including an Edward R. Murrow Award in New York, and was named “Best Reporter” in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists. Her stories have aired on NPR’s "Morning Edition," "The Splendid Table" and "Studio 360." Julie loves covering agricultural issues for the Allegheny Front—exploring what we eat, who produces it and how it’s related to the natural environment.
Kara Holsopple likes to tell environmental stories that surprise listeners, and connect them to people and places nearby, and in the wider world. Kara is a lifelong resident of southwestern Pennsylvania, except for her undergraduate years at Sarah Lawrence College. She earned a masters degree in professional writing from Chatham University, and has been a features writer for regional magazines. Kara got her start in radio working with Pittsburgh Indymedia’s Rustbelt Radio. She produced "The Allegheny Front Rewind" series, celebrating the show's 20th anniversary, and her work has been heard on The Environment Report, Inside Appalachia and Here & Now. One summer she read all of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple & Poirot detective novels.
Reid R. Frazier covers energy for The Allegheny Front. His work has taken him as far away as Texas and Louisiana to report on the petrochemical industry and as close to home as Greene County, Pennsylvania to cover the shale gas boom. His award-winning work has also aired on NPR, Marketplace and other outlets. Reid is currently contributing to StateImpact Pennsylvania, a collaboration among The Allegheny Front, WESA, WITF and WHYY covering the Commonwealth's energy economy.
