Meet the News Team

Updated: August 11, 2009

Learn more about the reporters and producers who bring you headlines and features throughout the year.

Adriana Diaz

Adriana has dreamed of helping inform television audiences about current events since she watched the attacks of September 11th from her social studies classroom window at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. As a Dominican-American, Adriana has always loved learning about different cultures. She speaks French, Spanish, and Chinese. After high school, she studied International Relations and Chinese at Princeton University and got Master's degrees from Columbia University and L'Institut D'�tudes Politiques in Paris, France. Before coming to Channel One, Adriana worked on Wall Street, was Miss New York USA 2006, lived in France and interned at CNN's Beijing bureau.

If you want to learn more about covering international news or have any questions about Channel One News, find Adriana on Facebook!

Evan Groll

Evan comes to Channel One News from...all over! He's lived in Houston, Texas; Wheaton, Illinois; Columbia, Missouri and now New York City. Evan graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri -- he actually started with Channel One as an intern, the summer before his Senior year; we loved him so much we couldn't wait for him to come back for good. Evan says he most enjoys covering international news, human interest pieces and stories centered around social injustices (or even better, a combination of the three).

He's excited to be on board and if you visit him on Facebook, he'd be happy to answer any questions you have about Channel One News!

Gary Hamilton

Gary knows something about that famous Texas pride, he was born and raised in Houston (where he grew up watching Channel One in Middle and High School) and then he graduated from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas and studied abroad at Oxford University in the U.K. Gary says he wanted to be a journalist because he has always had a fascination with people accomplishing positive things in the public eye, and he always goes that extra step to figure out "why." Before joining Channel One News, Gary worked for NBC's famed Page Program, at MTV as well as at Columbia Records. Gary's favorite shoots to go on are the ones for his "Next Big Thing" segment and he loves your feedback.

If you have a suggestion for "Next Big Thing" or any other questions for Gary, find him on Facebook!

Ali Kermalli

Ali got his start with journalism during high school in Anaheim, California (and he often reminds us that "the West Coast is the Best Coast"). Ali's been hooked since he took an elective, early morning (Zero Period) newspaper class. He eventually decided to go the TV route and majored in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Southern California -- where he had the opportunity to cover the Rose Bowl for the USC football team. Not only does Ali help us out in the news room, but he is also our technical guru -- he can answer any questions we have about cameras, lighting and our editing system.

Check Ali out on Facebook -- he would be happy to answer any questions you have about Channel One News!

Sarah Mirza

Sarah wrote for her high school newspaper in Katy, Texas, and then for the paper at Wellesley College. But she says she wanted to work in TV news because...she likes to watch TV! Sarah learned more about broadcast news in journalism school at Boston University. Sarah loves telling stories about people and what makes them tick. So far, the story that Sarah was proudest to be a part of was that of Jorge Munoz, a school bus driver in Queens, New York, who seven days a week feeds over 100 destitute people, mostly poor immigrants, under elevated subway tracks on his own time and his own dime.

Sarah is excited about meeting teens with compelling stories and experiences and sharing them on Channel One News.

Kristen Sachau

Kristin Sachau

Kristin grew up in San Diego, California and graduated from San Diego State University. After college it was off to Rome, Italy where she worked at a Refugee Center and for the United Nations. Our resident fashion expert, Kristin has also worked as a stylist in New York. But she says it wasn't until she got involved in documentary films that she realized her passion for story-telling. And it's people like Kristin, with such a diverse background, that make the Channel One team so unique -- we all bring so many skills and experiences together to make a great show.

Kristin says the most compelling story she has worked on for Channel One was when she travelled back to California to cover the San Diego fires, which literally happened in her own backyard, as the fire affected many members of her own family -- a challenge, she says, for her to walk the line between journalist and private citizen.

Zachary Carr-Dreher

Zach is affectionately known as our "Zach-of-All-Trades," he is the guy responsible for bringing our 12-minute masterpiece together each day. But it's no surprise, his background is actually in video installation art, and he got his start as a filmmaker while studying communications and religious studies at Ithaca College in New York.

Each day Zach takes all of the pieces of the Channel One puzzle, brings them together, answers all of our technical questions and still manages to stay cool -- we couldn't do it without him! And while you may not recognize Zach's face, you've certainly heard his velvety voice -- teasing parts of our show, 'Hear It Now,' 'Glory Road' and many others!

Toni DeAztlan

Meet our One-Woman-California-Bureau. Toni is taking off from New York City this season and setting up shop in Los Angeles, so Channel One News can better cover stories on both coasts! It's an opportunity that is just the reason Toni wanted to be a journalist -- growing up in Texas (and watching Channel One News), she learned to love traveling, and always enjoys meeting new people. As a reporter, Toni has traveled all over the U.S., to Denmark, China and even Australia.

But she says the coolest story she has covered was right here at home -- when she rode along with the New York Fire Department's water-based crew -- she even got to dress the part, jumpsuit and all! Toni graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, and received a Masters of Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley -- so this won't be her first time living in the Golden State.

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