The MetroFocus Team

Matthew Chao – Associate Producer

Matthew Chao’s experience in broadcast television can be easily traced through numerous shows and productions for WNET and its affiliates including “NJ Today,” Teaching Channel and the nationally-distributed documentary program “American Masters.”   Prior to his work at WNET, Matthew attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, achieving his B.F.A in film and television production in 2009.  Since then he has produced and edited a variety of short films and news segments.  Currently he resides in Essex County, New Jersey.

Beth Garbitelli – Researcher

Beth Garbitelli plans stories, researches, and coordinates interviews for the broadcast and website. She previously worked at PBS NewsHour, where she wrote articles for the NewsHour website, booked show guests, produced coverage at the Democratic National Convention, and shot and edited video. Beth has also interned at NBC News for “Meet the Press.” She graduated from Georgetown University this past spring and lives in Queens.

Sally Garner – Executive Producer

An Emmy-award winning television producer, Sally Garner’s experience includes producing, writing and reporting for major news outlets including CBS and CNN and public television in New York and Los Angeles. She was a producer and writer for WNET New York’s nationally-distributed news program WorldFocus and senior producer at NJTV’s nightly news program NJ Today. She also produced and wrote WNET’s “Treasures of New York: Lincoln Center,” an hour-long documentary on the history and renovation of New York’s cultural arts center, hosted by Patti LuPone. Garner received her B.A. from UCLA. She currently resides in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

Kirsti Itameri – Multimedia Producer

A Brooklyn-based photographer, graphic designer and multimedia journalist, Kirsti Itameri creates and produces multimedia content for MetroFocus. She was previously the contributing editor at the Council on Foreign Relations’ Campaign 2012 blog and is the recipient of a 2012 RFK Europe Journalism Award for I Marched Along, an interactive multimedia project focused on the future of women in post-Revolution Egypt. Itameri graduated from Parsons School of Design with a BFA in photography in 2006 and completed an MA at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in 2011.

Rafael Pi Roman – Producer and Host

A native of Cuba, Rafael Pi Roman has anchored, hosted and produced public affairs and political news programs at Thirteen and WNET since 1992.  Pi Roman served as executive producer, writer and host of the three-part special, “The City,” which covered the 1997 New York City mayoral race and won an Emmy in 1999. In 2001 Pi Roman became the host and senior editor of Thirteen’s primetime Emmy award-winning program, “New York Voices.” Pi Roman has been a contributing producer/correspondent for NYC-ARTS since 2009 and in 2010 he became co-host and co-executive producer of Thirteen’s weekly current affairs program, “New Jersey Capitol Report.”  His television work has been honored by the Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences as well as by the Latino Coalition for a Fair Media. In 2005 Mr. Pi Roman was named one of the 25 most distinguished Hispanic men in New York City by the city’s premier Hispanic newspaper El Diario/La Prensa.

Marisa Wong – Multimedia Producer

Marisa Wong produces, curates and edits multimedia content for the MetroFocus broadcast and website. Prior to working with MetroFocus, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, and worked as a freelance multimedia storyteller. Marisa graduated from New York’s New School for Public Engagement with an M.A. in International Affairs and a concentration in Media and Culture, and received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. She currently resides in Brooklyn.

For the WNET Interactive Engagement Group:

General Manager
Daniel B. Greenberg

Director of Digital Strategy
David Hirmes

Direct,  Local Digital Initiatives
Joe Harrell

Director of Technology
Brian Patrick Lee

Creative Director
Nick Miller

Designer
Ricardo Galvez

Production Manager
Christiane Wartell

Pagebuilding
Brian Santalone

Developer
Eric Knappe

Contributors
Michelle Michalos
Bijan Rezvani