Staff

Frances Alonzo is a newscaster/multimedia reporter at Voice of America in Washington, DC. She is also a contributor to Middle East Voices, where she predominantly covers stories on women’s issues.

David Arnold coordinates the Syria Witness project at Middle East Voices and reports on Middle East and North Africa affairs for both Voice of America and MEV. The Syria Witness project publishes on-the-ground citizen reporting, giving Syrians the opportunity to offer to a global audience their first-person narratives of life on the streets of their war-torn country.

Elizabeth Arrott is Voice of America Cairo bureau chief and regional correspondent. Often traveling, she reports on the news of the Arab Spring and other developments across the Middle East and North Africa.

David Byrd is a journalist, writer, video editor and photographer at Voice of America, and a contributor to Middle East Voices. He is also the host of VOA's American Cafe, a weekly show covering life and culture in the United States.

Egyptian-American Mohamed Elshinnawi is a senior reporter at Voice of America and contributor to Middle East Voices. He covered the Middle East peace process from Camp David in 1978 through the 1993 Oslo Agreements to Syrian-Israeli talks in 2000. He interviewed Arab heads of state, prime ministers, foreign ministers and as well as ranking U.S. officials, including members of Congress. He hosted "Dialogue with the West," a live TV show which, broadcast via satellite from Washington, reached 35 million Arabs. He is fluent in Arabic and English.

Cecily Hilleary is a senior reporter for Voice of America and associate editor at Middle East Voices. She began her reporting career in the 1990s, covering US Middle East policy for Dubai-TV English. She has lived and worked in the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf regions, consulting and producing for several regional radio and television networks and production houses, including MBC, Al-Arabiya, the former Emirates Media Incorporated and Al-Ikhbaria. She brings to her work a keen understanding of the region's top social, cultural and political issues.

Jurij Hiltajczuk is chief online editor of Middle East Voices. With over 20 years in broadcast journalism in various editorial capacities, he combines his editorial work with creative content management and audience engagement through social media.

Patrice Martin is a multimedia production specialist at Voice of America and Middle East Voices. With over 15 years at VOA, she has honed her skills in news writing, radio production, audio/video editing, graphic design and voicing for English programs. She has also served as a Producer and Director for the International call-in program “Talk to America.”

Dan Robinson has been VOA's Senior White House Correspondent since 2010, arriving from Capitol Hill where he covered the House of Representatives from 2002 to 2009. He is also a former bureau chief for VOA in Southeast Asia, and East Africa, and headed VOA's Burma broadcast service between 1997 and 2001. He authors regular "White House Insights" on Middle East Voices.

Scott Stearns is VOA’s State Department correspondent. He has worked as the Dakar Bureau Chief, White House correspondent, and Nairobi Bureau Chief since beginning his career as a freelance reporter in the Liberian civil war. He has written for the BBC, UPI, the Associated Press, The Jerusalem Post, and The Economist. Scott has a Bachelors and Masters in Journalism from Northwestern University. He authors a regular “Diplomatic Notes” blog on Middle East Voices.

Susan Yackee is a senior reporter, anchor and producer for Voice of America's signature audio podcast, Middle East Monitor. She is also a contributor to Middle East Voices. She has been a journalist in the Washington area for more than 35 years and, as part of her work, regularly interviews newsmakers and analysts in the US and around the world.