Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman is a producer who occasionally directs the show. Since joining the staff in June 2015, she has produced a variety of stories including a coal mine closing near her hometown, the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in southern Bangladesh. She is also an occasional reporter for Morning Edition, and NPR.org, where she has contributed reports on both domestic and international news.
Ashley was a summer intern in 2011 with Morning Edition and pitched a story on her very first day. She went on to work as a reporter and host for member station 89.3 WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she earned awards covering everything from healthcare to jambalaya.
Ashley is an East-West Center 2018 Jefferson Fellow and a two-time reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists. Through ICFJ, she has covered labor issues in her home country of the Philippines for NPR and health care in Appalachia for Voice of America.
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The Cessna 206 took off on January 24 for what would have been a short flight — but it never made it, prompting a desperate weeks-long search through remote mountainous terraine.
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Forecasters say the result could be massive flooding and a potential for avalanches across stretches of the state.
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Every year millions of Filipinos leave their homeland to work overseas, sending billions of dollars back home. The death of a female overseas Filipino worker has shaken the country to its core.
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The Department of Defense announced the move that is widely seen as a way to deter China's influence in the region amid a visit to the Philippines by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
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New Zealand's ruling Labor Party will vote for a new leader on Sunday. The new leader will be the prime minister until the next general election on Oct. 14.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced she's leaving office in the coming weeks. The announcement Thursday shocked analysts and has left her party in a bind.
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Speaking to her party's annual caucus, 42-year-old Ardern said "it's time" for her to move on and that she "no longer had enough in the tank" for her premiership.
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NATO foreign ministers are now meeting in Romania to discuss how to support Ukrainians as they confront a harsh winter and a constant barrage of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure.
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The Female Pilots of Ukraine is the first of its kind in the country at a time when the Ukrainian military has been using drones for reconnaissance and fighting against Russian forces.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his forces are taking back Kherson, following Russia's withdrawal from the strategic southern city.
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A new school in Kyiv aims to get more women involved in the war effort by putting them in a driver's seat where few have been before: piloting drones.
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Ukraine was the leading country Americans adopted from, but it halted adoptions this year after Russia's invasion. Now many families and children are in limbo.