BIN Team: Telling Our Story.
Meet our team.
Christopher Thompson, Vice President of Network Operations
Christopher brings over 20 years of radio experience to the BIN team in the areas of Broadcast Operations, Programming , Sales, Affiliate Relations, and Talent Management. He is the former Vice President of Radio Operations for Reach Media and the "Tom Joyner Morning Show" and Tom Joyner's "Right Back Atcha" Weekend Show. Prior to joining Reach Media, Chris was the Executive Director of Network Operations for Connecticut based Buckley Radio and successfully managed syndication and affiliate clearances for the 15 nationally syndicated weekday and weekend Talk Radio programs under the WOR Radio Network brand and its 500 plus unique affiliations. He began his broadcast career working in public radio at WAMC in Albany New York and has since worked in music, and news talk formats. His past experience also includes stints as a talk show producer, operations manager, sales associate, and radio host.Andrea Coleman, Vice President of News Operations
Andrea Coleman is communications professional who has worked in various disciplines within the industry including broadcast journalism, magazine publishing, media relations and communications consulting. Most notably, Andrea worked for five years as a morning anchor and reporter for the Cable News Network [CNN] in the early to mid-1990s. From the anchor desk, she covered historic events including the Oklahoma City Bombing, the O.J. Simpson Trial, and Nelson Mandela's release from prison. Andrea eventually joined CBS Atlanta News as an anchor and reporter. There, she earned a regional Emmy award for community affairs reporting.Lauren Crawford, Senior Director of Digital and Social Strategy
Lauren is a New York City-based writer and editor with a passion for music, entertainment news, and the sharing of Black stories. The South Florida native graduated from the University of Florida, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication. After graduating in 2015, she moved to New York City. Lauren has worked as a writer, reporter, editor, and digital host. In addition to overseeing the Black Information Network's digital site and social media accounts, Lauren is also an editor for iHeartRadio's national website.Mike Stevens, Managing Editor
Mike has anchored and reported breaking news from coast to coast. Mike's assignments have included news operations in New York City, Atlanta, Sacramento, Tampa, Flint, Columbus, Ohio and his native Philadelphia. During his 25-year career Mike has interviewed many newsmakers, athletes and entertainers including Coretta Scott King, Hank Aaron and Bill Cosby. Mike Stevens reported from the scene of bombings in Atlanta and Birmingham and was among the first to announce the deaths of Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney Houston.Ramses Ja
Ramses has been broadcasting professionally since 2005 across several radio and television stations including KKFR-FM Power 92.3/98.3, KNRJ-FM 101.1 FM The Beat, KAJM-FM Mega 104.3 FM, and KTVK-3TV. As a prime-time air talent, Ramses has gone on to win media awards from other institutions including the NAACP and The Black Philanthropy Initiative, and the Phoenix New Times.Currently, Ramses hosts Civic Cipher with Q Ward. Civic Cipher is a show designed to give a voice to Black people in spaces where their culture is celebrated, but little civic engagement takes place. Thanks to a 2022 partnership with iHeartMedia, it can be heard on radio stations across the country as well as all podcasting platforms. Additionally, Ramses hosts The Black Information Network Daily Podcast where he interviews Black journalists around the country to gain more insight into national news stories. The Black Information Network Daily Podcast is found on the Black Information Network—a subsidiary of iHeartMedia.
Rey Harris
Rey is a Multi-Emmy award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience. Rey was one of the first African American journalists to cover 911 and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan and the Middle East. A product of HBCU's Clark Atlanta University, Rey has worked for numerous news operations in Cleveland, Dayton, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Central Texas and New York. Rey also has an extensive radio and voiceover background, being featured on various media platforms around the world. Favorite pastimes include sports, cooking, and international travel. Based in Miami Beach, Rey covers the top stories in South Florida and the nation.Vanessa Tyler
Vanessa is an Emmy award-winning and six-time Emmy nominated reporter/anchor with extensive and impressive broadcast journalism experience. Vanessa is a veteran of local news operations in New York, Washington, D.C., Dayton, Ohio, Rochester, New York, and Charlotte, North Carolina. A graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, the Harlem native is actively involved in a number of community organizations and has been recognized by the National Association of Black Journalists, the Associated Press, and the Garden State Association of Black Journalists.Julius White
Julius is an award-winning journalist, originally from Birmingham, Alabama who joined the Black Information Network from Morgan State University's public radio station in Baltimore where he served as News Director. In addition to his radio experience, his work has been featured on BET Nightly News, and was twice honored by "Who's Who in Black Alabama" during his time working as a news anchor and reporter in Birmingham.Morgyn Wood
Morgyn is based in the Washington D.C./Baltimore area where she reports on politics, entertainment and news from the world of sports. Morgyn is a veteran broadcaster who has been featured on stations owned by iHeartMedia and Radio One along with Sirius/XM satellite radio. Morgyn received her Batchelor of Arts from Morgan State University and holds a Master of Arts in Communication Design from the University of Baltimore. She has held roles both on-air and behind the scenes as a news writer and producer.Esther Dillard
Esther is a native of Buffalo, New York who has worked in several media markets as a reporter and anchor. Some of the places include: WBGO-FM, KTVU-Ch2 in San Francisco, CBS-3 in Philadelphia, WGRZ-TV2 in Buffalo, NY and WEYI-Ch 25 in Flint, Michigan. For several years, she also worked as an educator at Bloomfield College in Bloomfield, New Jersey as a communications professor. She taught a variety of courses including: Writing for Radio and Television, Broadcast Journalism (TV production), News Gathering, Intro to Mass Communications and Public Speaking.Mike Moore
Mike is a broadcast news veteran, whose career has spanned over 25 years. Mike has worked in Jacksonville, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently based in Atlanta, Georgia.Teri McCready
Teri is a Connecticut native whose career began at local commercial radio stations in lower-Fairfield County. Her broadcasting experience also includes public radio and television. She expanded her career horizons in NYC as a radio correspondent for the Bloomberg Urban report interviewing celebrities including Danny Glover, Vanessa Williams, Bernie Mac and Natalie Cole. The Urban report was featured on the Wendy Williams Show in numerous U.S. markets. Prior to joining BIN, Teri was a radio news anchor for WOR/iHeartMedia broadcasting from its NYC headquarters.Doug Davis
A native of Philadelphia and raised in the Washington D.C Metropolitan area, Doug's career in broadcasting began after his sophomore year at The Central State University. Upon graduating, Doug secured a position in Television/Radio at Cox Radio, Incorporated WHIO-TV/FM/AM Dayton as an A.M. News Anchor on the television side as assistant Assignment Editor. Three years later, Doug landed his first full-time Urban radio job at WJMZ-FM/Greenville and spent time in the market honing his craft, holding every manager/director position in the programming department. Doug eventually became one of the youngest Program Directors in the business. He went on to work at Entercom then Cumulus Radio, where he remained for seven years, managing several radio stations within the company. By 2016, Doug accepted an offer to work for the acclaimed The Michael Baisden Show, working as Program Director/Director of Production. Currently, Doug is an Anchor/Reporter for the Black Information Network.Alexandria Ikomoni
Alexandria is an Atlanta-based News Anchor for the Black Information Network and iHeartMedia. Before coming to the network, Alexandria was the TV News Anchor for a CBS & FOX affiliates station in the Midwest. She started her TV career in Southwest Georgia. She was an anchor, multimedia journalist and news reporter with the FOX affiliate in Albany. She began her news journey while in college during the summer of 2016 interning with the Atlanta NBC affiliate station. Throughout her career, she’s covered natural disasters, gubernatorial elections, red carpet events and more. She’s interviewed political figures, entertainers, celebrities, and others.Alexandria was born in the Bronx, New York, but calls Atlanta home after moving in 2000. She graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication with a concentration in Media Studies. She also has a minor in Accounting.
John Marshal
John found his love for entertainment & broadcasting from promoting and hosting events in and around his hometown of Atlanta, GA while attending Morehouse College. After multiple radio internships with Clear Channel & Radio One, he landed his first on-air position with legendary ATL hip-hop station WHTA/HOT 107.9. There, he honed his programming, production and promotions skills and was eventually recruited by fellow Atlanta hip-hop station W233BF/Streetz 94.5. The weekends, both on air and in the city nightlife, were his home for the next year. Consistent work ethic eventually landed him his own weekdays show “Kickin' It with John Marshal” on WFXE/FOXIE 105 in Columbus, GA that he took from #4 to #1 in the market for over 2.5 years. John was recognized as Davis Broadcasting's Personality of the Year in 2017.Now back in ATL, attending Georgia State University for Communications and having joined the Black Information Network/iHeartMedia team, John is broadening his broadcasting horizons and bringing the news as an anchor and reporter to listeners in over 30 cities across the country.
Bri Wood
Bri is an Alumni of Eastern Michigan University and Specs Howard School of Broadcast Media Arts in Southfield, MI. As both on-air talent and producer for iHeartMedia since 2009, she hosted weekend entertainment and news talk shows on 97.9 WJLB and Mix 92.3 FM respectively. Bri, as she is known to the public, helped listeners get around town as a traffic reporter for the Total Traffic & Weather Network which led to a 4-year run on 100.3 WNIC as a contributor, and morning drive traffic and weather personality.Most recently, Bri voiced Afternoon Drive traffic for all iHeartMedia Detroit stations, as well as reports, PSAs and commercials in other iHeartMedia markets. She lives in the metro Detroit area and in her free time enjoys a good book, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
Natasha Williams
Natasha is a multi-Emmy Award winning journalist with more than two decades of experience in Television and Radio News. She joins the Black information Network as an Anchor/ Reporter. Williams was most recently a multi-media journalist at 89-7 NPR News.A veteran journalist, Williams began her broadcast career in Jackson, Tennessee, and also held Anchor/Reporter positions, Rockford, Illinois, Cincinnati, Ohio and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She spent more than 20 years as an anchor and investigative reporter for WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio. In 2008, she was named best reporter and awarded for best broadcast writing by the Ohio Associated Press. In addition to being honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, Williams also won an Emmy Award for Tornado coverage and two others for investigative reports. She is an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists. Williams received her undergraduate degree from HBCU, Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina and a master's degree from The Ohio State University. She was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Wilberforce University, the nation's oldest historically black university.
Nichole Deal
Nichole's broadcasting career began in the late 90s with an internship at ABC News Affiliate, KVUE Television in Austin, TX. Her time there launched a highlight career as a voice over artist and on-air radio personality. She has worked in various capacities throughout her career including News Bureau Chief, Public Relations Director, Anchor, Reporter, Producer, & Fill in Host. You may have heard her voice on nationally syndicated shows like Kidd Kraddick in the Morning and The Car Pro Show or other Texas stations: KPLX 99.5FM, KVET 98.1FM, KFMK 105.9FM, KEYE 103.5FM, & KFIT 1060AM.Before joining the Black Information Network, Nichole spent over 7 years as an Anchor, Reporter & Producer at the iconic WBAP/KLIF studios in Dallas, TX which offers listeners a 24/7 News/Talk format. She has also done freelance work for the Black Contemporary Television Network.
Aside from radio, Nichole has a deep partiality to residential and commercial real estate. Her career in real estate spans decades and includes positions held as Vice President & Director of Leasing, Senior Property Manager, & Leasing Consultant of the Year.
Nichole holds a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Kevin Brown
Kevin is a News Reporter for the Black Information Network. He is responsible for daily local and national reports targeting the African American community.Prior to taking the position at BIN in 2020, Kevin Brown was the Program Director and Morning Show Host at KBLX in San Francisco for 22 years. During his tenure as PD, Kevin directed day-to-day operations and orchestrated smooth and efficient program development focused on the attainment of key business metrics. Simultaneously, as a Morning Show host, Kevin delivered exceptional programming to audience members.
Kevin incorporated advertisers and products into shows in innovative ways and conferred with advertising partners to develop and deploy effective promotional strategies. He served as a spokesperson and representative for Disney, General Motors, Lexus, Purina, McDonalds, Comcast and Sleep train.
The Kevin Brown Morning Show spearheaded fundraising efforts securing millions of dollars in donations to fund programming for nonprofit organizations like UNCF, Oakland Children's Hospital, and American Cancer Society and was recognized for his commitment to the community by Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Governor Jerry Brown with "Kevin Brown Day" and a "Congressional Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community."
Prior to his arrival in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kevin held Morning Show/Program Director positions in Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Norfolk, Kansas City, and Little Rock Arkansas.
Mike Eiland
Mike couldn't decide whether he wanted to climb towers as a radio engineer or go on air. When his love of music took over while playing in the Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble, then working at the campus radio station, his love of recorded music tipped the scales in favor of being INSIDE of a radio station. He started his career as an air talent for a new local album-oriented rock station, WLVQ, where he also did news reporting. When that station was sold after almost 20 years, he found himself at what was then Clear Channel Radio (now iHeartMedia) and continued on the air, this time playing Top 40 classic hits, but added the duty of being the station cluster's Public Affairs Director. He produced, wrote, and hosted the weekly program for all seven stations. He enlisted the help of sister station WTVN News anchors to provide stories, and he had to reciprocate in kind and help the anchors in the newsroom. That's when the news bug hit, but he wasn't quite ready to hang up the headphones playing music, so he did both. Remarkably, iHeartMedia's Black Information Network came along in 2020, and he went for it. Just like at the Columbus radio cluster, he became the host of the public affairs program. The Black Perspective on BIN uses the same format as his local shows, only this time, there was a unique African-American lean to it. BIN's top-notch anchors contribute heavily to the show. Mike is still at home with Public Affairs hosting but admits the national angle is a sweet challenge!Jovonne Ledet
Jovonne is a Houston-based writer and an Associate Editor for the Black Information Network. She studied Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and worked as a freelance entertainment news writer before joining BIN. Jovonne is passionate about music, sports, pop culture, and covering stories that uplift and inform the Black community. In her spare time, Jovonne takes the field as an NFL Cheerleader. She also contributes to iHeart's national website.Brandi Porter
Brandi is a Virginia-based Social Media Assistant for the Black Information Network. As a recent graduate from the University of Virginia, Brandi earned her degree in Media Studies where she studied and analyzed media culture and technology. It was from there that she began to learn and appreciate ways to create and shape forms of media in innovative ways to reach desired outcomes. Before joining BIN, Brandi worked as a freelance Content Creator and Social Media Marketing Manager. In doing so, she familiarized herself with various social media platforms and developed ways to reach specific audiences. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, listening to music, reading books, and staying updated on the latest scoop.Mimi Brown
Mimi Brown is a Los Angeles-based journalist, TV personality, host and show producer who knows how to cut right to the heart of the culture. With her passion for broadcast journalism being the root of her success, Mimi is committed to bringing her aptitude for storytelling, amplifying the work of others and helping individuals and brands to connect to the forefront of all that she does.Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Mimi started her media career as a red carpet reporter covering award shows like the Oscars, Grammy's and the Golden Globes. Her highly soughtafter work can be seen on an array for broadcast platforms including NBC, ABC, BET and FOX.
Mimi loves what she does, in a recent interview she shared, "As a girl from Alaska, I never knew jobs like this existed. Every day I get to tell a different story, champion the underdog or talk to my favorite celebrity about their new project. Each day is a fun new experience. I love that."
Mimi holds a Bachelor's Degree from Howard University and a Master's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from American University. She's also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Amber Payton
Amber Payton is a Virginia based journalist on the Black Information Network. As a Norfolk, Virginia native, Amber got her start in media as a radio personality in her local market. With a passion for media she continues to serve as a music radio personality on several music stations in Hampton Roads.Amber is a proud Summa Cum Laude graduate of Norfolk State University. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication with a strong focus in Journalism.
While getting her start in media, there were very few female peers in her area. As a result Amber made it her mission to use her talent and impact to both empower all women while also being an important advocate in the community. Her passion for women empowerment birthed the Finding Her Way initiative. This consists of podcasts, women empowerment panels, mentoring, and more. She is committed to positively influencing all women to be their best authentic selves.