News Team

Johannes Werner is a journalist who has pursued a wide range of beats, from Berlin to Mexico City, Detroit, and Miami. During the last two decades, his career took him to cover Cuba, from his home base in Sarasota. All that changed in 2023: WSLR brought him home professionally early that year, to direct a growing news team that covers the economic and environmental dysfunction, political extremism, and the grassroots movements that are springing up in response. Johannes knows the ins and outs of this place, and he loves it. He has spent half of his life in Sarasota with his wife Sarah; their child was born at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. He also happens to be a founding member of WSLR, and hosted a public affairs show on 96.5 FM from 2005 to 2015.

Florence is a recent New College graduate pursuing a career in journalism. Born and raised in Broward County, she had a brief stint in Germany before moving to Sarasota for college. She pursued a wide breadth of topics at NCF, before finding her calling in journalism through an internship at WSLR. After graduation, WSLR helped her start her career by offering her a position as a part-time reporter. She’s explored a number of beats during her time at WSLR, from development to local elections to the new college takeover, all while staying laser-focused on local issues.

Ramon Lopez has 45-plus years experience as an aviation, aerospace and defense journalist, editor and manager for daily, weekly, monthly and bimonthly international publications.

He was a regular contributor to Jane’s Airport Review and Unmanned Systems magazine. He edited the Precision Strike Digest. He previously served as editor-in-chief of Air Safety Week, editor-in-chief of Unmanned Systems and Washington Correspondent for Jane’s Defence Weekly, Flight International and International Defense Review.

He has worked in both radio and television news, in Washington, DC and now in Sarasota, FL. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications from the University of Maryland with a minor in Journalism.

Tyler Oldano is a sophomore broadcast and digital journalism student at Syracuse University and a native of Tampa. He’s a pop-culture geek with a passion for cooking and experimental media. When Tyler was young, he was passionate about storytelling and enjoyed public speaking. Over time, he decided to combine his passions to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. During Tyler’s time up north, he worked at his university’s television station, CitrusTV, and got his feet wet as a reporter. He’s covered various topics, from police standoffs to a local blacksmith, and is always looking for the next big story.

Ryan Stanley, a 30-year resident of Sarasota, is a New College of Florida graduate, wife, and mom. Over the last ten years, she has sewn together a patchwork quilt of paid and unpaid work with a dozen different non-profit organizations including Girl Scouts of the Gulf Coast, The Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County, and WSLR Community Radio+Fogartyville. Ryan also enjoys cooking, traveling, and the company of fierce women.

Nef teaches high school US History, American Government and Economics in Bradenton half of the day, and runs kids tennis programs here in Sarasota the other half of the day.

Nef earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at The University of Southern Mississippi, where she played tennis on scholarship on the Division 1 Singles and Doubles teams. She then attended graduate school at Wagner College on Staten Island, NY and earned a Master’s degree in Education. At the same time, was Interim Head Tennis Coach for both Division 1 Women’s and Men’s teams.

After graduation, she worked as an Education Director for the National Urban league, and was contracted with schools to teach in schools in Harlem, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Nef then worked as a Site Director for Advantage Tennis in NYC, where she implemented curriculum and created tennis programs out of the Avenues Global School and The United Nations School. She was also the Assistant Director of Summer Camps at New York Tennis Club in partnership with Maritime College in the Bronx.

Her goals are to connect her life experiences with other academics and writers, philanthropists and activists as she strives to become a Higher Self.