Hawai‘i Public Radio announces several changes on the news team.
Ashley Mizuo has joined the station as a general assignment/community reporter. Most recently, Mizuo worked as a statehouse reporter in Illinois’ capital city and as an editorial fellow at Washingtonian Magazine. She also hosted a podcast asking people about their worst day at work—with the descriptive title Work Sucks. Born and raised on O‘ahu, Mizuo is a graduate of ‘Iolani School and has a BA in journalism and political science from Loyola University Chicago and an MA in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois-Springfield.
Jason Ubay is now a producer on HPR’s local public affairs talk show The Conversation. Ubay was managing editor of Hawaii Business magazine for 5 years, where he launched the publication’s social media channels. He later covered tourism and financial institutions at Pacific Business News. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Hawai‘i at M?noa and is the president of the Hawai’i chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.
Harrison Patiño also recently stepped into the role of producer on The Conversation. Patino has worked part time at HPR over the past two years as a board operator and a host on Bridging the Gap. In the summer of 2018 he completed an HPR internship sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists. He is a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at M?noa and a veteran of KTUH, where he served as news director and general manager.
Along with these changes, Ryan Finnerty has been promoted to government and public policy reporter. In his new role, Finnerty will be focusing on state and county government, as well as their impact on the people of Hawai‘i. Previously, Finnerty was a producer and reporter on HPR's The Conversation. His work has been featured nationwide on NPR's All Things Considered, American Public Media's Marketplace and C-SPAN Radio's View from the States project, and he recently won first place for best feature story in the Radio II division in the 2019 Associated Press Television and Radio Association honors. Before joining Hawai‘i Public Radio, Ryan was an officer in the U.S. Army stationed at Schofield Barracks on O‘ahu. He graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in economics.
