Kris Vera-Phillips (Moderator) kris.vera.phillips@gmail.com is a faculty associate and Ph.D. candidate at the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Her research explores race, identity, and representation in media. As a faculty associate, she teaches ethics and diversity, digital media literacy, news producing, and multimedia storytelling. Kris works with students to understand how their stories and content contribute to our shared understanding of the world. She is also an Emmy Award-winning journalist with over 14 years of experience in producing news shows and special projects.

Steve Kilar (Panelist) edits The Arizona Republic/AZCentral.com’s coverage of courts and the justice system; K-12 education; real estate; and race, equity and opportunity. He previously worked as a lawyer, a reporter for The Baltimore Sun and as a communications director for two public policy organizations. He is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Michigan Law School and has a master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland.

Stella Sun (Panelist) is an Emmy Award-winning Traffic Anchor/Reporter and Meteorologist at 12 News in Phoenix. Before moving to the Valley in 2022 to be close to her family, she worked at KOAT in Albuquerque, NM, where she forecasted the weather on weekends and reported news three days a week. She was chosen as 2022’s best reporter by the Albuquerque Journal. Stella previously worked at KTMF in Missoula, MT as a multimedia journalist and weather forecaster. She completed her meteorology certification in December 2023 through Mississippi State University. Stella is a proud graduate of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University, where she double majored in broadcast news and global politics, and minored in global studies.

Haley Ziomek (Panelist) is a news producer for Arizona’s Family (KTVK & KPHO) in Phoenix, where she has been since 2022. In her two and a half years, she has worked on various newscasts, finding, writing, and pitching stories daily for broadcast and digital mediums. Haley has also helped find guests for live segments on topics from health and wellness to community events, highlighting local organizations. Most recently, she helped launch “Taste of Arizona,” a weekly segment featuring local Arizona restaurants. An Arizona native, Haley graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, earning her master’s degree in 2022.