Meet the newest members of HPR's news team, helping to keep you informed of stories happening across the islands.
Pixie Clay is HPR’s News Editor, where she works with the station’s team of reporters to bring accurate, impactful and compelling news stories to our audience through broadcast and online platforms. She joined the newsroom in December.
Maddie Bender, Producer, The Conversation, is a science, health and technology journalist. She provided production assistance on This Is Our Hawaiʻi, HPR's first narrative podcast, and joined The Conversation as a producer in 2024.
Mark Ladao, News Producer, moved to Hawaiʻi as a teenager and graduated from Moanalua High School. He was a general assignment reporter at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for four years before coming to Hawaiʻi Public Radio as a news producer in fall 2023.
Ashley Mizuo is Hawaiʻi Public Radio’s Government Reporter. She previously worked at Crooked Media producing two podcasts: "Pod Save the World" and "Strict Scrutiny." Before that, she was the City Hall reporter at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and a general assignment reporter at HPR.
Get to know Pixie Clay, News Editor
What do you do at HPR?
As the News Editor of HPR, I help plan coverage of local news stories for the station. Along with the News Director, Bill Dorman, and Managing News Editor, Jason Ubay, we help focus the local news picture of the station as a whole. This includes daily stories as well as long-term stories that require more time to develop. Part of it means helping reporters to conceptualize and execute their stories as well as doing some editing checks of their work. I also contribute to the news stories that make our air. With me helping to produce and write news stories, it ensures that reporters have time to work on their stories while also ensuring our audience isn't missing out on anything timely.
What motivated you to work in journalism?
When I began my radio career in Hawaiʻi at the age of 19, there was always a little bit of journalism work involved, mainly in terms of keeping up with current events. I always worked to include small tidbits of newsy things delivered in a way that would be interesting to the audience in the short amount of talk-time allowed. Plus, working on a morning show meant including some news of the day as listeners would like to know what the headlines are as part of their morning commute.
Nearly a decade later, I moved to San Francisco to further my radio career and realized there were so many opportunities in terms of doing full-time journalism while staying in radio broadcasting without having to make the jump to TV or print. I got a job at a historic all-news station that covered the nine Bay Area counties, where I learned from veteran journalists who have been in the business for their whole lives. Every major news story was a learning opportunity and I gained so much experience and knowledge in my twelve years there.
My motivation to work in journalism is to keep the public informed. In a world where it's easy to be swayed by misinformation or rumors, I like to feel that staying in news and putting out accurate information helps the public at least in a small way. I also really enjoy telling stories to people, so journalism is the best combination of both.
What kind of stories do you seek out?
The type of stories that I seek out lean more towards public interest and impact angles. These are the type of stories that affect a lot of people or stories with information that a lot of people should be aware of. I also like to seek out stories of good people doing good things. There is a lot of negativity that is inherently a part of news, so if I'm able to highlight heartwarming or positive stories that will uplift people, then I will try to get them out there.
What public radio programs do you enjoy listening to?
It's really hard to pick a favorite since I enjoy a lot of them equally! All the shows provide a different variety of topics and focus, so it's not fair to compare them. I just really enjoy how anyone can listen to HPR and get the locally focused programming as well as NPR's programming on the national and international focus.
Get to know Maddie Bender, Producer, The Conversation
What do you do at HPR?
I am a producer of The Conversation. I wear a lot of hats, as does everyone on The Conversation team, in order to put together our daily hour-long radio show, Monday through Friday. I help engineer interviews and run the board, which includes everything from ensuring guests’ volume levels sound great to firing music and interviews on air. I also conduct interviews and edit down audio for our pre-recorded segments.
How did you get into journalism?
I got into journalism as a reporter for my weekly high school newspaper. When I applied to college, I specifically sought out schools that had student newspapers with strong science sections. I wrote for and edited the science section of The Yale Daily News – It was like a full-time job in addition to going to class! While still in school, I started freelancing for outlets like VICE and Popular Science. I finished a masters in public health in 2021, so this is my third year working in journalism full-time. In terms of my beat, I would say I focus on science, public health, and technology.
What kind of stories do you seek out?
I try to stay as up to date as I can about scientific research that has a Hawaiʻi angle — whether it’s a study conducted by local researchers or a national story with implications for the islands. I recently reported on a study that used sounds of healthy coral reefs to improve reefs that are struggling. That research was not specifically done for Hawaiian coral, but I felt like that was a story that people here would be interested in.
I also enjoy reporting on internet culture and technology. I produced a segment on how the potential TikTok ban could affect local content creators and influencers in the state. It was a fun story, especially since I know these social media sites pretty well. I’m always interested in giving overlooked voices a platform to share their story, especially as I am constantly learning more about this place, the people here, and the topics they care about.
What public radio programs do you enjoy listening to?
I like to listen to science programming, like Shortwave and Science Friday. My favorite NPR science show of all time — and if you don’t get anything else from this interview, this is what I want people to know — is called Bear Brook, from New Hampshire Public Radio. It’s true crime, about a serial killer, but also about genetic genealogy and using DNA to solve crimes.
Other programs I enjoy include a podcast about Reddit called Endless Thread; Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Mi; Planet Money; and Marfa Public Radio’s So Far From Care (shout-out to Annie, a college classmate who hosts the show!) I’m a huge podcast nerd, so I can go on and on!
Locally, I really like This Is Our Hawaiʻi — I helped work on the last episode. I’m also a big fan of Bytemarks Café.
Any other information you'd like to share?
I think a lot of people who tune into The Conversation don’t realize we have such a small production team. There are four of us, and we put together an hour of radio every weekday. More than anything, we really love when listeners call our Talkback Line or email us at talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org. If you ever call to answer our Backyard Quiz, chances are I’m going to be answering the phone.
If you have a story to pitch, email me at mbender@hawaiipublicradio.org. You can also add me on Duolingo, or find me on Chess.com. I used to be a child chess champion, so this is a competitive request. See if you can beat me at chess, because most people can’t.
Get to know Mark Ladao, News Producer
What motivated you to work in journalism?
I was reading a National Geographic story on a group of climbers as they tried to reach the peak of Hkakabo Razi in Myanmar, and realized that in journalism, I could write and do other interesting things for a living.
Shortly after I joined the journalism program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and after that worked at Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi on campus, Kapiʻo News at Kapiʻolani Community College, Honolulu Civil Beat and Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
What kind of reporting are you doing for HPR?
I function as a general assignments worker, with some emphasis on local government. I do more in-depth reporting on food systems and agriculture when I'm able to.
What can our listeners expect to hear from you in the next few weeks?
You could hear me reporting on anything from a city council meeting to a renewable energy project or a state audit.
What public radio programs do you enjoy listening to?
I make it a point to try to listen to The Conversation and This is Our Hawaiʻi on HPR. Invisibilia and the TED Radio Hour are some of my favorite NPR podcasts; outside of that, I listen to a lot of Radiolab, This American Life and 99% Invisible.
Get to know Ashley Mizuo, Government Reporter
What motivated you to work in journalism?
I knew I wanted to be a journalist when I was in middle school. I worked on my high school paper and in college, I majored in journalism and political science. While in college I was able to intern at different media companies including magazines and television stations. However, during my senior year, I was a political news intern at an alternative weekly in Chicago and I discovered how much I liked writing about local government. In my graduate school program, I focused on state government reporting. State government is really interesting because it deeply impacts people’s day to day lives so it is important to take a deep dive into those topics.
After my undergraduate and masters programs, I came home and worked at Hawaiʻi Public Radio as a general assignment reporter for almost two years. My focus at that time was education and health during the COVID-19 pandemic. I then went to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser as their city reporter and then to a podcasting company in Los Angeles called Crooked Media, where I was an associate producer working on podcasts focusing on law and foreign policy. However, I missed reporting in the field.The best part about being a reporter is having the opportunity to talk to people and weave together information to inform the public. So when the government reporter position at HPR opened up, it was a great fit. I'm excited to be back in Hawaiʻi and reporting for Hawaii Public Radio again.
What kind of reporting are you doing for HPR?
I focus on the government, which is quite broad because there are so many different levels and branches from the state legislature to city council and even the courts. Topics I’ve been enjoying reporting on include criminal justice, housing and government spending on Maui recovery. I try to seek out topics that seem really big, scary and confusing to put them together in a way that not only helps listeners understand what they are, but also about why they should care about the issues. It’s important to me to give listeners the information they need to know on how the decisions being made by those in power will impact the day to day lives of our community.
What can our listeners expect to hear from you in the next few weeks?
The legislative session is quickly coming to a close, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on the big topics lawmakers have been focusing on like short-term rentals, affordable housing and how we’re going to pay for Maui recovery. But after the legislative session is over, there will be many more stories on how these laws will be implemented and the effects it will have on our local communities — so you’ll see continued reporting on these topics.
If there’s a topic or issue you’d like to hear about, you can contact me at amizuo@hawaiipublicradio.org.
What public radio programs do you enjoy listening to?
My number one favorite is This American Life. I love that podcast and started listening to it from a very young age. In the beginning, it was because my dad was a really big public radio listener. The program would always be playing when we would be driving around on the weekend and I was forced to listen, which I dreaded (because I didn’t realize how great public radio was yet). But as I got older, I came to really enjoy it because something that my dad and I bonded over. It helps give a way to talk about complicated and difficult topics without it being as scary and intense. I am always in awe of how This American Life can take mundane topics and turn them into beautiful and interesting stories which have stuck with me for many years.
Locally, I’m always tuned in to Morning Edition. I’m a big supporter as they provide really valuable information to the public. It’s nice listening to HPR because you get a mix of both national, world and local news. It’s always a great mix of stories, and a fantastic resource for the public.
