Reporter | benson@nbcactionnews.com

Lisa Benson joined NBC Action News as a reporter in March 2004. She is a native of St. Louis Missouri, but is very proud to call Kansas City home.

Lisa developed a passion for journalism writing for her high school newspaper. A drive that can now be seen in her clear and concise storytelling of Kansas City news.

Lisa's first television job took her just down the road to St. Joseph, Missouri. At KQTV Lisa was a one-man band reporter, a weekend anchor and a producer. A position she held until accepting a weekend anchor position at WAND-TV in Decatur, IL. Lisa feels both jobs helped prepare her for the hustle of covering late breaking news in Kansas City.

Lisa graduated from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA with a major in Journalism. While studying in Atlanta, she also worked with CNN -Impact, CBS-46, and the 1996 Olympic Games. While at Clark-Atlanta University, Lisa also studied the Spanish Language and Culture in the Dominican Republic. She has always enjoyed learning about people and different cultures and hopes to travel to West Africa very soon.

In her free time, Lisa enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, shopping, working out, and fostering her relationship with God. Lisa currently resides in Mission, KS.

Reporter | brennan@nbcactionnews.com

Leeah Brennan didn't quietly join the NBC Action News team in April 2008. She jumped right in. Within days of her first assignment, tornadoes demolished Kansas City North neighborhoods and GM auto workers at the Fairfax Assembly Plant hit the picket line. Leeah was right in the middle of it -- which is right where she wants to be.

Leeah came to Kansas City from WPMI-TV in Mobile, Alabama. While at WPMI, she went undercover to expose the problem of crack pipes for sale in corner stores. As a result of her story, a new law designed to keep families safe was put into place. This story earned Leeah an Excellence in Investigative Reporting award.

When she's not chasing a lead, Leeah is running - literally. She is a proud lifetime member of the Carpe Diem Running Club and has crossed the finish line in 6 marathons. Kansas City's hilly terrain offers a new challenge. The city also offers more opportunities for Leeah to unleash her rabid fan side. Leeah is a Mizzou graduate and her love for the Tigers is third only to love for her family in Colorado, and Bella, her rescued yellow lab.

Reporter | cleaver@nbcactionnews.com

Born and raised in Kansas City, MO Marissa Cleaver is excited to be back home. She joined the NBC Action News team as a general assignment reporter in July 2006.

She fell in love with journalism after watching the movie "All The Presidents Men" during her first week of high school at St. Teresa’s Academy. For three years Marissa was associate editor for the school paper, "The Dart".

After high school Marissa attended Oklahoma City University. It was there that she decided to branch out into broadcast journalism. She graduated with a BA in Communications and French. From there, Marissa attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University where she received a Master of Science in Journalism.

After graduating from Northwestern, Marissa obtained her first job working in Tallahassee, FL where she anchored a statewide PBS show called Capital Update. She returned north as a reporter for KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln, NE. Prior to returning to Kansas City, Marissa was a reporter for WINK-TV in Fort Myers, FL.

Marissa is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the National Association of Black Journalist and St. James United Methodist Church.

She is an avid Chiefs fan and a connoisseur of great Kansas City Barbeque! Marissa is delighted to be home with her family.

Reporter | hawley@nbcactionnews.com

Talk to Amy about some of the stories she's covered throughout her career and it will be obvious her adventurous spirit is reflected in her reporting. She's been a storm chaser, been trapped at the center of a twister, and been for a ride in an F-16 at a 90 degree angle - an experience that's left her desiring a pilot's license ever since.

It's that same energy for her reporting that gave Amy a successful start in television. Beginning her reporting career in 1994 at WIBW in Topeka, Amy performed every role imaginable - editor, photographer, producer, anchor and reporter. She created and produced her own morning show and also gained experience producing and anchoring the midday show. Eventually, she produced and anchored the weekend newscast as well. With so much invested in each show, it's no surprise that each show was number one in it's timeslot.

In 1997, Amy made the move to KWTV in Oklahoma City where she was both an anchor and reporter. After just three weeks at a new station, Amy was providing daylong coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing trials. In a state with a high execution rate, Amy also covered several death penalty cases.

It was also while working in tornado alley that Amy got a taste of storm chasing. She found herself searching for cover as an F-5 tornado carrying 300 mile per hour winds passed nearby. Amy also learned firsthand what it's like to be trapped in what meteorologists call the "bear cage", an area so near the center of the storm that the winds only blow sideways.

In September of 2002, Amy made the trip back to Kansas City and started working for NBC Action News. A University of Kansas alumni, Amy is glad to be home reporting news in Kansas City.

Reporter | chernandez@nbcactionnews.com

Chris Hernandez reports many of the big stories for NBC Action News, with a strong emphasis on City Hall news. He has a special touch for putting political coverage in perspective.

Chris has covered political campaigns for nearly two decades. He first interviewed Barack Obama while working in Chicago when Obama was an Illinois state senator.

Chris joined NBC Action News as a reporter in 2004 and is thrilled to be back in his hometown. You may remember seeing him on the air at WDAF-TV for seven years in the 90's. Chris then gained exciting journalism experience working in bigger markets.

Chris last worked in the third largest TV market in the country, at the CBS station in Chicago, WBBM-TV. While there, he filed reports internationally after a nightclub stampede that killed more than 20 people. He also reported on a meteor that crashed to the earth and reported when a fan attacked a Kansas City Royals coach during a White Sox game.

Before Chicago, Chris worked in Cleveland from '99 through '01 as a reporter at WEWS-TV, a sister station to NBC Action News.

Just before returning home, Chris took some time off and spent four months backpacking through Mexico and Central America. He found the church near Leon, Mexico where his grandparents were married, hiked up volcanoes in Guatemala, toured rainforests in Costa Rica and learned to scuba dive in Honduras.

Now Chris is happy to be reporting again on issues that affect his family and friends, and to be able to watch Jayhawk basketball. He currently lives in the Brookside neighborhood in Kansas City with his partner. His extended family lives in Shawnee and Lee's Summit.

Chris spends some of his free time helping with community events and has served as the 2006 Honorary Chairman for the AIDS Bicycle Challenge, has sung with the Heartland Men's Chorus and has volunteered with the Mattie Rhodes Center, which provides social services in the Latino community.

Reporter | kath@nbcactionnews.com

Ryan Kath joined NBC Action News as a reporter in August of 2006. He made the trip down I-35 from Minnesota and is thrilled to be working in the Kansas City area.

Prior to his arrival in the fountain city, Ryan worked for two years at KTTC-TV in Rochester. While reporting in the home of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, Ryan wore just about every hat at the Newscenter, whether covering city politics, producing newscasts, or shooting Friday night football.

Ryan graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2002, and then spent a year working as a newspaper reporter. However, he left the pen and paper behind to pursue a master’s degree in broadcast journalism at Boston University.

Ryan is a diehard Minnesota sports fan, so he won’t be donning red on football Sundays. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys playing soccer and exploring the metro area with his beautiful wife, Carla.

Reporter | marusarz@nbcactionnews.com

Born and raised in Kansas City, MO Mike Marusarz is excited to be back home and return to NBC Action News. Mike became a fulltime General Assignment Reporter in April 2006. In college Mike worked as a news intern and also worked overnights on the assignment desk.

Mike discovered his passion for news as a little boy, giving reports to family and friends. His appetite for story telling grew at North Kansas City High School where he anchored the school‘s broadcast. Mike graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies.

Mike was selected for an International Radio and Television Society Fellowship in New York City during the summer of 2004. The fully funded fellowship provided rare one-on-one meetings with top news industry professionals offering critiques and advice. It also included a paid position with FOX News Channel. Mike worked on the FOX Report and Studio B news programs with Shepard Smith where he experienced the world of network news. Mike also received the Steven K. Nenno Award for inspiration from The IRTS.

Before joining NBC Action News Mike was the Weekend Anchor/Reporter at WIBW in Topeka.

Mike’s family is excited he’s back in KC. His sister, Beth is studying to be a music teacher at Northwest Missouri State University and his parents live in the Northland.

Mike wouldn’t trade his job for any other in the world. When not reporting the news he enjoys golfing, going to the gym, barbecuing, reading and spending time with family, friends and his girlfriend.

Freelance Reporter | ptacek@nbcactionnews.com

NBC Action News Reporter Russ Ptacek brings two decades of award winning local and network experience to his role as field reporter in Kansas City. Russ began his career in Lawrence as a student reporter on University of Kansas radio station KJHK. He was quickly given his own news-talk program and promoted to news director.

While still a student, Topeka CBS affiliate WIBW hired Russ as a part-time reporter. He continued his role at the station while attending class full-time. WIBW then offered Russ a spot as the morning and noon anchor. While at WIBW, Russ' reporting and investigative skills were recognized repeatedly with regional and national awards. His work also received attention from the networks where he was frequently requested to contribute on-air reports.

He left WIBW to found an internationally recognized news agency, NewsTV Corporation. Russ's firm provided consulting, research, reporting and producing services to network news organizations like NBC, CNN, and the BBC. He sold the firm in 2001 and returned to the University of Kansas to finish his degree. After graduating at KU, Russ studied and lived in Germany prior to returning to Kansas City to report for NBC Action News.

Reporter | seward@nbcactionnews.com

Larry joined the NBC Action News team in April 2005. He's thrilled to live in the Metro, which already feels like home to him! Larry comes to NBC Action News from hot, sticky, rural eastern South Carolina. He spent nearly two years one-man-band reporting in the Florence-Myrtle Beach area.

Prior to that, Larry worked as producer, reporter, anchor and assistant sports director for WOUB-TV in Athens, Ohio. Three of his stories earned national recognition, including a Mark of Excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists for best sports reporting. He also spent a few months as a field producer for WCPO-TV in Cincinnati.

A Cincinnati native, Larry simply loves telling stories. He also loves watching sports... of all kinds. His interests include cheering ALL Cincinnati pro sports teams, watching European Soccer, learning the game of cricket, classical music, reading, bible study, and spending time with family, friends and his beautiful fiancée, Tracy.

Larry is a magna cum laude graduate of Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

Call For Action Reporter | strathman@nbcactionnews.com

Jenn grew up in Wolcott, Connecticut. Her first chance at broadcasting came in high school when she combined her love of sports and writing.

Jenn then went to Syracuse University. During her college years, she worked at ESPN International screening soccer games. That led to a chance to work on the Women's World Cup in 1999. Jenn traveled the country for two weeks broadcasting games.

After school, she moved to South Bend, Indiana, to work at the NBC Affiliate for 4 and a half years. Jenn was a producer and reporter for the consumer, problem-solving unit. While there, she won two Regional Edward R. Murrow awards for an investigation into mortgage fraud and mold. She also worked as a general assignment reporter at the station.

Jenn is happy to be back working on a consumer unit and helping people get solutions to their problems.

In her spare time, Jenn enjoys watching and playing sports. She plays soccer, tennis, as well as rollerblade and bike. Jenn is always looking for a new adventure. Skydiving is the greatest adventure to date!

"I still write, but now it's about real life rather than fiction. My younger sister, Meghan, is now the topic. She was killed in April of 2003. I wrote a book about her life for family and friends. I'm in the process of writing a second one. It details my journey through grief and the unique approach I've taken to heal. She's on my mind daily. She wanted to be a teacher. To honor her, I joined Big Brothers Big Sisters in 2003. My "little's" have taught me as much as I may have taught them. It's a pleasure to hang out with my "KC little" every week and expose her to things she's never done or seen in Kansas City.

Traffic Reporter

Major Miles (no, not his real name) joined NBC Action News to cover morning rush hour traffic in May of 2006. While maybe not all that familiar to television viewers, Major has been keeping an airborne eye on rush hour commuters in Kansas City since 1990 for several local radio stations. Ever the multi-tasker, he continues to be heard on radio in addition to helping out your morning drive from SkyTracker during NBC Action News Today.

Major got into radio back in 1984 in Parsons, Kansas, working as a disc jockey and color commentator for local high school sports. A big sports fan, the entry into radio was with the intention of a play-b- play career but things took a different path.

A move to Kansas City in 1988 led to an evening disc jockey job with what was at the time KLSI Radio (now Mix 93.3) until being a casualty of staff cuts in October of 1989.

As one door closed, another opened up, and in March of 1990, Major began his new career path as an airborne traffic reporter that he continues today. He says he enjoys the traffic reporting because it's something different every day and it's nice to actually be helping people out.

Major is a huge sports fan, especially of NASCAR. For several years now Major has co-hosted a nationally syndicated NASCAR Radio show and for four years worked as a turn announcer for MRN Radio, the radio network that carries NASCAR races.

In addition to sports, Major's hobbies include playing video games and cycling. He says he's a late bloomer to the video game thing as he never played in his teens and twenties when most people do. Better late than never. He used to bicycle race but just rides for fun now.

Major has been married to his lovely wife Mary since 1983 and they have two children that are his greatest joy of all. Jack, born in 1997 and Laura, who came along in 2002.