Meet the CBS12 News Team
Liz Quirantes - Anchor - 5pm, 6pm and 11pm
Liz Quirantes is actively involved in her community. She anchors the 5, 6 and 11 pm newscasts for CBS 12, and is also active in many worthwhile causes. Supporting children's causes is something Liz is passionate about, and she was recently awarded the Media Advocate Award from Floridas Children First for her work to raise awareness of foster care and adoption for children who need families. Liz is very involved with "Forever Family," a non-profit charity that finds homes for children in foster care. Each Tuesday, Liz features a foster child during the 5pm newscast on CBS 12. Those reports have generated hundreds of calls and resulted in many adoptions.
Another project Liz is involved with is Making Strides Against Breast Cancer donating her time at many local events, serving as emcee for fundraisers, including the annual walk for about 5,000 people, as well as producing stories about breast cancer, both inspiring and educational.
Liz also served for 10-years as a board member of the H.O.P.E. Project, which provided low-cost mammography to the underserved and uninsured women of Palm Beach and Martin counties. Funded solely by grants and donations, Liz was instrumental in fundraising that allowed the mobile, mammography van to go digital.
Liz is now serving as a member of the board of directors for AVDA, which promotes violence-free relationships and social change by offering alternative choices to end violence and domestic abuse.
Her awards have been many. Most recently, Liz was nominated for a 2013 Women in Leadership Award by Executive Women of the Palm Beaches. She was also honored as a Palm Beach Achiever and graced the debut cover of Palm Beach Woman Magazine. She was named a 2010 Hispanic Woman of Distinction for South Florida, given the Women in Power award from the National Council of Jewish Women and the Community Leadership award from Delta Kappa Gamma.
Liz an advocate for education, and for the last 13 years, she's hosted the annual William T. Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education at the Kravis Center, working closely with the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County.
Liz was also thrilled to win the first place trophy in the 2010 Dancing for the Stars Ballroom Dance Competition benefitting the Kravis Centers S*T*A*R Series. She has participated and donated her time every year since then, as a dancer again, and then as emcee for the event the following two years, helping raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the program.
A graduate of the University of Miami, she holds a Bachelors Degree in Broadcast Journalism and a Masters Degree in Telecommunication. Liz and her husband Craig are the proud parents of son Casey and daughter Emma.
John Discepolo - Anchor - 5pm, 6pm and 11pm
John Discepolo joined CBS12 News in September 2012 as co-anchor of CBS12 News at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.
Discepolo comes to West Palm Beach from KOMO-TV in Seattle where he was a weekend news anchor noted for excelling in live news coverage since 2010.
A Massachusetts native, Discepolo anchored sports for nearly a decade in New York at WCBS-TV and WNYW-TV, where he also served as sideline reporter for the NFL's New York Jets and New York Giants. John began his broadcast career as a reporter and weekend sports anchor at NEWS 12 in Yonkers, N.Y., and at WRGB-TV in Albany, N.Y.
Discepolo graduated from Hofstra University where he played football as a kicker and punter for the Division I-AA Pride alongside former New York Jets player Wayne Chrebet.
In his spare time, John loves to travel, play hockey, and is passionate about home construction, design and airplanes.
Suzanne Boyd - Anchor - CBS12 News This Morning
Suzanne Boyd is co-anchor of CBS12 News This Morning with Eric Roby.
Suzanne grew up in a farming family in Monticello, a small town outside of Tallahassee. In fact, Monticello is so small, it has no traffic lights, no movie theatre and only one major grocery store. So, after leaving high school, where Suzanne graduated with only 19 people, she decided to head off to the big town of Gainesville and the University of Florida. She got her bachelor of science degree in broadcast journalism in 1995, then got her first TV reporting job at SNN6 in Sarasota.
Suzanne had always wanted to live in South Florida and finally got here in 1998 when she landed a reporting gig at CBS12. She has won three Associated Press Awards for her reporting and helped launch the CBS12 I-TEAM.
Suzanne loves Gator football, crossword puzzles and running. Suzanne lives with her husband and two children in beautiful Delray Beach.
Eric Roby - Anchor - CBS12 News This Morning and Noon
Eric Roby joined the CBS12 team in December 2001. He anchors the CBS12 This Morning and the noon newscasts on WPEC CBS12.
Eric came to Florida from Davenport, Iowa, where he was weekend anchor at WQAD, an ABC affiliate, for two and a half years. Before heading west, Eric was an anchor/reporter in Salisbury, Md., at WBOC, a CBS affiliate.
He grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where most of his family still lives. Eric is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C. While attending classes Eric became the general manager of the campus TV station. He was also a freelance producer on Capitol Hill for Washington News Network, a news cooperative service. Eric also spent time overseas working as a production assistant for NBC in London.
Over the years Eric has earned numerous awards for his investigations and breaking news coverage.
Ben Becker - Anchor - 7pm / Reporter
Ben Becker is CBS 12's political reporter and weekday 7 p.m. news anchor. His responsibilities include reporting on the economy, tracking public/political corruption, corporate fraud and wrongdoing jeopardizing public health and safety.
Becker came to CBS12 from ESPN in Bristol, Conn., where he was an anchor on ESPN. Becker hosted various programs, including the weekday afternoon Hot List, the weeknight Pregame, Gametime, Postgame and The Blitz.
Prior to ESPN, Becker served as sports director and anchor at WPTV in West Palm Beach. Becker also was a Sports Anchor and Reporter at WINK in Fort Myers, Fla., and sports director and anchor at KDRV in Medford, Ore. He began his career as a sports producer at WJLA in Washington, D.C.
Becker graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from American University in Washington, D.C.
Stephanie Watson - Anchor - 5:30pm and 7pm / Reporter
Stephanie Watson joined CBS12 News in December 2012. She anchors the 5:30 and 7 p.m. weeknight newscasts and reports for the 11 p.m.
Watson comes to West Palm Beach from the CBS owned and operated station KDKA TV in Pittsburgh, where she was an anchor/reporter for 5 years.
Watson is no stranger to South Florida. In 2004-2006, She was the morning/noon anchor at WBBH/NBC 2 in Fort Myers covering 6 Major Hurricanes in 2004, including a direct hit from Hurricane Charlie (CAT 4). That was only to be surpassed by the following year in which she found herself covering the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history -- including another direct hit from Hurricane Wilma making landfall as a CAT 3 storm.
Watson got her start in the news broadcasting business as an anchor at KBMT in Beaumont, Texas. She received "Outstanding Media Coverage of Crime Victims' Issues" for Hardin County, Texas.
She also has an entertainment news background, having worked behind the scenes in Los Angeles as a segment producer for shows like Extra and Hard Copy, and was the talent coordinator for "1999 Emmy Awards Pre-Show."
Watson has a passion for community service and throughout her career involved in numerous charities -- most recently the Alzheimer's Association. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and participating in anything athletic, spending time with family & friends, traveling and watching sports.
Watson graduated from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Communications. She was born in Dallas and grew up in the Orange County, Calif., area.
John Matthews - Chief Meteorologist
John Matthews is Chief Meteorologist for WPEC-CBS12's StormTrac Weather Team. He is an associate member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association.
John is the "dean" of local television meteorologists -- having joined the CBS 12 staff in May 1976. Prior to that, he worked at WDIV TV 4 in Detroit.
John's broadcasts can be seen on CBS 12 at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m.
A native of Detroit, he attended Ferris State College in Michigan, and graduated from the Mississippi State University as a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist. He is also certified in meteorology by the National Weather Association.
John enjoys snow skiing, travel and woodworking, and entertaining the newsroom with his German language abilities. He and his wife have two daughters.
Chris Farrell - Meteorologist
Chris Farrell is an AMS certified meteorologist with the CBS12 StormTrac Weather Team. Chris Farrell's entire 25-year weather career has been right here in South Florida. Chris began his weather career in 1983 with WTVX Channel 34 in Fort Pierce.
He began work with CBS12 in June 1990. His weather broadcasts can be seen on "CBS12 News This Morning" from 4:30-7 AM weekdays and again on CBS12 at noon. His CBS12 weather forecasts can also be heard weekday mornings on Palm Beach County radio stations WIRK 107.9, WMBX 102.3 and WEAT Sunny 104.3. On the Treasure Coast AM 1590 WPSL in Port St. Lucie, AM 1450 WSTU in Stuart, in Vero Beach WGYL The Breeze 93.7 and AM stations WOSN, WTTB and WJKD. Chris is active in local Humane Society's and can be seen featuring a Pet-Of-The-Day from local animal shelters during the noon news on weekdays.
Born in Oxford, Miss., Chris was raised in both Gainesville and Key Biscayne, Fla. He served three years in the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery. He graduated with a BS from the University of Florida and a minor in meteorology. Then he received his Meteorology Certification from Mississippi State University in 1992. Chris has earned the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Seal of Approval. He has flown on two National Hurricane Center hurricane missions, covering Tropical Storms Elena in 1985 and Floyd in 1990.
Chris lives in Palm Beach County. He has two cats... Sammi and Pee-Wee and two love birds Corky and Naples. He plays tennis, golf and surfs when the waves aren't too big! Chris has run the Palm Beach County Half Marathon every year since its beginning and will again this year too! Occasionally he goes fishing, but seldom does any catching! If you see him on the golf course... come say hi!
Michael Ehrenberg - Meteorologist
Michael earned his Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) Seal in December 2007. This is an upgrade to the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Seal of Approval.
Michael joined CBS 12 in June 1999 for the weekend editions of CBS 12 at 6, 6:30 and 11 PM. He fills in for John Matthews and Chris Farrell when they are away. He also produces and broadcasts stories related to the weather. Michael also enjoys appearing at schools to teach kids about weather and careers in meteorology and broadcasting. He also enjoys conducting Hurricane Preparedness Seminars.
Michael started his weather career in 1989 at ION Weather, a weather consulting firm, in his native New Jersey. In 1994 he was hired by the National Weather Service in Miami.
He learned about hurricanes and tropical meteorology from specialists at the National Hurricane Center, which is co-located with the National Weather Service. He moved to the West Palm Beach area and began his television career at WPBF Channel 25 in 1996. He attended Rutgers University and received his Master of Science Degree in the field of Meteorology. His favorite activities include: water skiing, tennis, reading, the beach and researching the Internet. Michael loves to talk about the weather and welcomes questions at any time!
Craig Gold - Meteorologist
Whether it's breaking weather, or breaking news, Craig Gold has that rare "Jack of All Trades" ability to cover both!
Craig has been a meteorologist and reporter since 2003 having spent much of his time right here in the sunshine state. Needless to say, a dream come true having spent much of his childhood "geeking out" watching the weather channel in his Long Island, NY, home.
After completing his undergraduate work at the University of Miami and then earning his meteorology credentials from Mississippi State University, it was off into the real world to start his broadcasting career!
His first few gigs in Panama City and Tallahassee had him covering some of the most devastating hurricanes our country has ever seen, but it wasn't long after that he traded those in for tornadoes in Kansas for 3-plus years.
It was in 2009 that Craig left wheat fields of Kansas for the beaches of South Florida to join the CBS12 team.
If he's not tracking the weather or on assignment covering a local story, chances are you'll find him "attempting" to work on his tan at the beach, on the golf course , or cheering on his alma mater -- the Miami Hurricanes. This New Yorker also loves his favorite hockey team, the New York Rangers!
If you have a weather-related question, a story idea or you just want to say hi, do not hesitate to shoot him an e-mail!
Matt Lincoln - Sports Anchor / Reporter
Matt Lincoln joined CBS12 as the Sports Director in March of 2013. Matt caught the sportscasting bug growing up in southeastern Massachusetts, deep in the heart of Red Sox Nation. He received a broadcast journalism degree from Syracuse University, where he covered Carmelo Anthony and the Orangemens run to the National Championship.
Matts career continued as a Sports Anchor at KTVE in Monroe, La., starting in 2004. In 2007, Matt moved on to WBTW in Myrtle Beach, S.C., as the Sports Director. In 2010, Matt became the Main Sports Anchor at WWBT in Richmond, Va.
Matt has a bunch of family in Florida, and has been traveling to the Sunshine State since he was very young. Matt and his wife, Lara, live in Palm Beach Gardens with their dog, Josie. In the few hours a week that hes not at work, you can find Matt leaving extra large divots on golf courses, and slicing tee shots into trees all over South Florida.
John Evenson - Sports Anchor / Reporter
John Evenson joined CBS12 News in February of 2013 as a sports anchor/reporter.
Evenson comes to West Palm Beach from WTVH and WSTM in Syracuse, N.Y., where he was the sports director since 2006.
Evenson began his sports broadcasting career in his hometown of Toronto, Canada, working for Global Television, and eventually earned the position Sports Director at CITY-TV in Winnipeg. His Sports Director duties on Syracuse saw him cover several NCAA Tournaments with Syracuse Orange basketball team, bowl games with the Orange Football team. He also produced an award-winning special on the New York Yankees.
His most memorable interviews have been with Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Derek Jeter and Bob Costas.
Evenson graduated from York University as an English major, and has a degree in broadcast journalism.
In his spare time, John loves to travel, play sports, keep in shape and is very passionate about music.
Jenna Caiazzo - Anchor - Weekends / Reporter
Jenna Caiazzo joined CBS12 in January 2013 as the weekend morning anchor and reporter.
Caiazzo comes to CBS12 from WCCB-TV in Charlotte, NC where she reported and anchored for the nightly newscast. Caiazzo got her start in television in Binghamton, NY where she worked at Newschannel 34. Then, she was off to the beach where she worked for two years at WWAY-TV as a reporter in Wilmington, NC. From there she traveled to WHNS-TV in Greenville, SC where she was a reporter and fill-in anchor.
Caiazzo grew up right outside of Boston in Lynnfield, MA, and is a New Englander at heart. Caiazzo graduated with her Bachelors degree from Mount Holyoke College, and received her Masters in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University. Her family is in Charlotte and South Florida, so she is happy to call West Palm Beach her home. In her spare time she loves running, shopping, and trying new restaurants.
Al Pefley - Reporter
Al Pefley is a general assignment reporter for WPEC CBS 12. He was born in Austin, Minn. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Iowa State University, and a Master of Arts degree in Journalism-Mass Communication from the University of Florida.
Prior to joining CBS 12 in 1989, Al was a reporter at television stations in Cedar Rapids, Tampa, Louisville and Jacksonville. He enjoys running, rollerblading and golf. In 1992 he ran in the New York City Marathon; and then the Walt Disney World Marathon in 1994 and 1995. He also took part in the Chicago Marathon in 1998. He has also participated in a number of long distance bicycle races, including rides that crossed the entire state of Florida in 1992 and 1998.
Al is single and resides in Palm Beach County.
Chuck Weber - Reporter
Chuck Weber is a general assignment reporter for WPEC CBS 12. Weber grew up on a farm in Northeastern Indiana, and graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Telecommunications and German.
Chuck joined CBS 12 in 1981. In 1987, CBS 12 named Chuck environmental reporter, the first ever in South Florida. He currently covers courts and a full range of stories as a general assignment reporter.
Chuck co-produced half-hour documentaries and special reports on topics including Lake Okeechobee, recycling and the Florida Trail. He won an Emmy Award nomination in 1991 for his documentary "Recycling: The Unbroken Circle."
Chuck's hobbies include bird watching and architecture. He volunteers as a field trip leader and has helped organize charity events.
Chuck is single and resides in West Palm Beach.
Michele Wright - Reporter
Michele Wright is an award-winning anchor, reporter and multimedia journalist. She joined the team in August 2010 as the morning traffic anchor, feature reporter, web producer and fill-in news anchor. Before WPEC, she worked in Orlando at Orange & Vision Television as the main anchor of several shows. Prior to that, she worked for WTLV-12 as a freelance reporter and as the morning traffic anchor and feature reporter at WJXT-TV Jacksonville.
A native of Florida, Michele graduated from Florida State University with a double major in Political Science and Communications and a minor in French. In Tallahassee, she was a public service advisor for the Honorable Senator Connie Mack. She is a former NFL Cheerleader (Jacksonville Jaguar ROAR) and active member of the NFL Alumnae Cheerleaders Association and Professional Cheerleaders Association. Michele's father is a minister and her mother is a veteran nurse who inspired her to always give back to the community with charities, organizations and worthwhile causes. Michele adopted Gandhi's famous quote as her daily motto: Be the change you wish to see in the world."
If you or someone you know has an event, organization, charity or business that is making a difference, she wants to hear from you!
Gary Widom - Feature Reporter
Whether he is getting knocked around by a bunch of roller derby girls, challenging a competitive eater or jumping into a pool on the set of Vanilla Ice's new reality show, Gary Widom is CBS 12's feature reporter and a weekend anchor.
Gary is a product of South Florida. He grew up in Broward County and graduated with a Bachelor's from Florida Atlantic University.
During his college years (all 7 of them), Gary worked as a DJ at Wild 95.5, Power 96 and 97.9 WRMF, using his nick name Fletch.
Gary became a TV reporter in 2004, coming to CBS 12 from WTVJ NBC 6, Miami, where he was a freelance general assignment reporter. Before that, he worked as a reporter in the Fort Myers/ Naples, and Gainesville/ Ocala areas winning multiple Florida Associated Press Awards for reporting and photography.
Gary is always looking for that fun, interesting and exciting story. You can also follow Gary and everything he's doing at the station on Facebook and Twitter.
Lynn Gordon - Reporter
Lynn was born and raised in Miami and graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in telecommunications. She previously worked as a reporter for WBBH in Fort Myers; WCSC in Charleston, S.C.; WPTV and WPBF in West Palm Beach, CNN in Atlanta, and most recently at WSVN in Miami. After a four-year hiatus, Lynn decided to return to reporting at CBS12.
During her two-plus decades in TV News, Lynn have covered numerous hurricanes, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta in 1996 and she was the first reporter to interview O.J. Simpson after he was acquitted on double-murder charges in 1995.
Outside of work, Lynn is an avid runner. Besides running numerous 5k's and half marathons around South Florida, she has completed two marathons. In November 2009, she finished the New York City Marathon in 3 hours and 58 minutes. In March 2009, she completed the Big Sur International Marathon in California.
Lauren Hills - Reporter
Lauren Hills joined the CBS12 News team in November 2011 as a general assignment reporter.
Lauren was born in Houston, Texas, but moved to West Palm Beach when she was about 5 and grew up here. She attended Cardinal Newman High School and Wellington High School, where she graduated in 2000. Lauren earned a college basketball scholarship to West Liberty State College outside of Wheeling, W.Va., and played there for three years before transferring to the University of Florida to pursue broadcast journalism, a field she's wanted to be in since she was about 12.
She majored in telecommunications and reported for UF's campus TV and radio stations, graduated in 2005, and landed her first job in TV in a small market in Morgantown, W.Va. She reported for WBOY 12 News for two years before heading south and reporting for NBC 17 News in Raleigh, N.C., for three years. Lauren is very excited to now be reporting for CBS12 News in the area where she grew up and loves!
Lauren is a big fan of the Gators and Mountaineers, and tries to catch a game whenever she can. When she's not reporting, you can find her running (two half-marathons under her belt!), reading, and traveling (at least, she's trying to do more of that!).
Peter Schaller - Reporter
Peter Schaller has been a reporter for CBS 12 News since May 2009. In January 2010, he was on scene as local police broke big news. They had just captured Paul Michael Merhige, the man accused of killing four family members in Jupiter on Thanksgiving Day in 2009. Peter believes that this job carries the responsibility to inform, educate and connect with people living in South Florida.
Peter was born in New York, where most of his family still lives today. He started his career interning with WBNG-TV, the number one television station in southern New York and northern Pennsylvania. Next, Peter anchored and reported for KREX-TV in Grand Junction, Colo. His investigative reporting on oil and gas wastewater pits, and their effects on local families, helped change Colorado law. The governor invited the people profiled in his exclusive series to the signing of the "buffer zone" law, and now these toxic pits will never go in anyone's backyard. He also reported on wildfires, snowstorms, plane crashes and the 2008 presidential campaign. Peter also covered the fire that destroyed the KREX-TV building in 2008, and he got his hands dirty as the station rebuilt from the ground up.
He's happy to now be in sunny Florida, trading mountains for beaches, aspens for palm trees. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Binghamton University. Like any New Yorker, he loves to hear what's on your mind. Connect with him through Facebook, Twitter, or good old fashioned e-mail.
Jana Eschbach - Reporter
With a decade of experience covering the Treasure Coast, Jana Eschbach knows the region inside and out. She covers Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Martin counties. Dedicated to local community coverage from politics to business to agriculture, with her experience, Jana is often exclusive in the region. Jana enterprises and breaks stories daily, while uncovering in-depth I-Team investigations that create change in our region. Honored for Overall Individual Excellence and Team Coverage by the Associated Press 2005 and in 2003, Jana is a seasoned journalist.
During the 2 years Jana left CBS12 in 2009, she was an Executive Media and Marketing Consultant through her own company and for a large healthcare corporation as well. But news was her true calling, and she returned in January 2012.
Prior to her tenure at CBS12, Jana also worked at WZVN TV ABC 7 in Fort Myers/Naples, and was also a Multimedia Journalist at Florida's News Channel. She began her career in news at the The White House Press Office and in production at WUSA in Washington, D.C.
She is a graduate of the St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class 29, a program that takes upcoming leaders and introduces them to every major company and organization in the region over a 12-month period. Jana graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, from the College of Journalism.
Jana lives in Martin County, and is often seen on Facebook with her triplet nieces and nephew. An avid Philadelphia Eagles fan, she was born in raised in Boyertown, Pennsylvania.
Joshua Repp - Reporter
Josh Repp joined CBS12 as a reporter in April 2012. He graduated from UCF journalism school in 2010, after which he headed to the Deep South for his first reporting job at WTVY-TV, the CBS Affiliate in Dothan, Ala. Highlights include covering the Tuscaloosa tornado aftermath in which he spent several days without electricity, sifting through rubble, and talking to countless families who shared their amazing stories of survival.
Repp left Alabama and headed to Fort Myers at NBC 2 and ABC 7. He covered breaking news for the two separate, simultaneous newscasts.
Repp's career includes reporting, shooting, editing and anchoring. His journalism has earned multiple Associated Press honors.
Originally hailing from Boca Raton, Josh is happy to call South Florida home again.
If you have a story idea for Josh, please drop him a line.
Karl Man - Reporter
One part throwback television personality. Two parts outside-the-box reporting style. Let that simmer for just a bit. That is just a small taste of what you get when you watch CBS12 News reporter Karl Man.
Karl joined the CBS12 News team in September of 2012, each day he brings his passion for television and lives up to the stations slogan as "the one to turn to."
A proud native of the Chicago suburbs and graduate of Ball State University, Karl enjoys finding new ways to tell stories that matter in South Florida.
So far its been a reporting trek across the nation for Karl with stops in California and Kansas before landing in West Palm Beach.
In his free time you can find this reporter paddle-boarding in Jupiter, running on the beach and driving his Delorean at exactly 88 miles per hour.
If you have a story and want Karl to know about it just shoot him an e-mail.
Thomas Forester - Reporter
Thomas Forester joined CBS12 News in January 2013 as a general assignment reporter, which is something new for him. He has spent most of his career as a sports anchor/reporter
and welcomes the daily challenges of making the transition to the world of news.
He attended the University of Maine on a basketball scholarship and earned a bachelors degree in education.
As expected, Thomas loves living in South Florida, and when hes not working,
you can find him sampling the diversity of music, food and culture that South Florida has to offer.
If you have a story idea for Thomas please drop him a line.
