Staff & Board
Meet the Staff
Joanna Detz, publisher, co-founder
[email protected]
Joanna has an interest in social-justice journalism that stems back to the first time she read Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” a book that also, incidentally, set her on the path to a beef-free lifestyle. After a brief foray into cable news journalism, which included a stint at CNN’s Washington bureau during the 1996 presidential election, she served as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in a bedroom community north of Boston where she met co-founder Frank Carini. Joanna moonlights as a graphic designer and has mixed feelings about Helvetica. She has a passion for the free press and believes in the power of community journalism.
Bonnie Phillips, editor
[email protected]
Bonnie has worked in the news industry for more than 30 years. A graduate of The University of Rhode Island, she started her career at The North Kingstown Standard-Times. From there, she worked at The Woonsocket Call, the Lynn (Mass.) Daily Item, and the Middletown (Conn.) Press. She spent most of her career — 19 years — as an editor at the Hartford Courant. She was part of the Courant newsroom team that won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting and was also part of the team that were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for the coverage of the Sandy Hook school shootings. She left The Courant in 2016 and worked as the deputy editor of the Connecticut Health Investigative Team, a nonprofit news site.
Jonmaesha Beltran, reporter
[email protected]
Jonmaesha Beltran joined ecoRI News as a full-time reporter in February 2026. She holds a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University. Her work has appeared in The Arizona Republic, Wisconsin Watch and Inside Climate News. She lives in Warwick.
Frank Carini, senior reporter, co-founder
[email protected]
Frank has 35 years of journalism experience, and has spent time as a reporter, an editor, and a darkroom technician, back when there was something called film. He has worked at a variety of publications in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Rhode Island, including a metropolitan daily, a small daily newspaper, an alternative weekly, and several community weeklies. He believes giving voice to the marginalized and disenfranchised is journalism’s core principle.
Rob Smith, reporter
[email protected]
A lifelong Rhode Islander, Rob’s first encounter with environmentalism was a middle-school science project investigating the causes behind the 2003 fish kill in Greenwich Bay. Before joining ecoRI News, Rob was news editor at the alt-magazine Motif Magazine, where he covered politics and social justice. A graduate of Rhode Island College (Go Anchormen!), Rob lives close to Narragansett Bay in East Greenwich with his wife and two dogs.
Board of Directors
Mike Stanton, President
Mike is a journalism professor at the University of Connecticut and was a longtime reporter at The Providence Journal, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. The author of two books, “The Prince of Providence” and “Unbeaten,” he lives in Rhode Island.
David Dadekian, Vice President
President and primary writer/editor of Eat Drink RI; “RI’s unofficial food laureate” — Philip Eil, Providence Phoenix; PR director for Blackbird Farm; past chair of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council; Rhode Island Foundation 2014 Innovation Fellow; writer/photographer; husband and father of two girls; David also dislikes writing in the third person.
Robert Santurri Jr. Treasurer
Robert Santurri Jr. is a lifelong Rhode Islander who graduated from Rhode Island College and has spent the past decade working as an accountant. Robert has served on several municipal boards and enjoys volunteering his time to improve his community. When he’s not accounting or volunteering, Robert enjoys running, traveling, and finding the time for the occasional good book.
Emma Sheridan is a nonprofit professional with experience across a range of fields, including historic preservation, grants management, and community initiatives. She is particularly interested in the intersection of design, preservation, and environmental justice. Emma grew up in Warren and is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island.
Victor Arias
Victor is a data integrity specialist for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He enjoys spending his free time at home with his dog Emma and cooking.
Bob is a printer, co-founder of a hyper-local news website and has been happily married since 1979. He moved to Rhode Island for the beaches, and if he could, would ice skate every day of the year.
Meg served served as chairperson of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission and Energy Facility Siting Board. Prior to holding that position, she was the United States attorney for Rhode Island.
After 30-plus years with Texas Instruments, Tom is happy to have time to contribute to nonprofit and community organizations. He serves on multiple boards and as a volunteer firefighter. “Tanker Tom” never dreamt of driving fire trucks in a town without hydrants, but life sometimes leads you to interesting places.
Alba is a Spanish writer and scholar committed to advocating for environmental justice with an intersectional approach. Currently based in Providence, she is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Hispanic Studies at Brown University.
Throughout her 15-year communications career, Katherine has led public relations and communication efforts for the City of Providence, Johnson & Wales University, RI Resource Recovery Corporation, and two statewide political campaigns. Currently, she oversees strategic communications and community relations for the newly established School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Providence College.
Robin spent more than 30 years in the film business, overseeing continuity on major films including Die Hard with a Vengeance, Hitch, and Analyze This. When she returned home to Rhode Island, she founded The Granny Squibb Company. She is a devoted gardener, lover of Narragansett Bay, and sailing.
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