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Jessica Gray Balisle, a Springfield native, grew up listening to KSMU. When she's not wrangling operations and compliance issues, she co-hosts live music show Studio Live and produces arts and culture stories. Jessica plays bass in local band the Hook Knives. She and her husband Todd live with their two cats, Ellie and Jean-Ralphio, and way too many house plants.

A loyal and longtime fan of both NPR and PBS, Ted Quirk is an enthusiastic supporter of public media in southwestern Missouri. In his capacity in Corporate Support, Ted works with local and regional businesses to secure funding. Prior to his tenure at Ozarks Public Broadcasting, Ted directed non-profit organizations as well as corporate entities. He has worked in sales and marketing for a number of Fortune 500 corporations as well as smaller local companies. Ted is a devoted father of five and spends his free time with his sons and daughters.

Mike Smith's career at KSMU began in 1980 as a student announcer when the former Navy Submariner attended (then) SMSU with help from the GI Bill. In 1982 Smith became a full time member of the KSMU family as "Chief Announcer", responsible for the acquisition, training and scheduling of the student announcing staff. It was also in 1982 when Smith first produced "Seldom Heard Music" a broadcast of Bluegrass which is still heard on KSMU and ksmu.org every Saturday night at 7CT.

Lee Worman not only provides the KSMU listening area with fine recorded Celtic music on the radio; he also plays it himself. Lee plays Flute, Tinwhistle and Bodhran, and has performed solo and in various bands for over three decades. His love for traditional Celtic and British Isles music dates back to his days as a graduate student in the early 1970s at the University of Leeds, England. After his return to the U.S.A., he moved to Springfield, Missouri and taught English at Southwest Missouri State University for several years. Lee would later pitch his idea for “The Gold Ring” to KSMU, which first aired on the station on 1982.

Marideth is a Missouri storyteller, veteran journalist, teacher, author, musician and student of folklore focusing on stories relevant to Ozarks culture and history. Each month, she’s the voice behind "These Ozarks Hills.” Sisco spent 20 years as an investigative and environmental writer for the West Plains Quill and was well known for her gardening column, “Crosspatch,” on which her new book is based. Sisco was a music consultant and featured singer in the 2010 award-winning feature film “Winter's Bone.”

Robert Krulwich works on radio, podcasts, video, the blogosphere. He has been called "the most inventive network reporter in television" by TV Guide.

Linton Weeks joined NPR in the summer of 2008, as its national correspondent for Digital News. He immediately hit the campaign trail, covering the Democratic and Republican National Conventions; fact-checking the debates; and exploring the candidates, the issues and the electorate.

Elle covers education for KCUR. The best part of her job is talking to students. Before coming to KCUR in 2014, Elle covered Indiana education policy for NPR’s StateImpact project. Her work covering Indiana’s exit from the Common Core was nationally recognized with an Edward R. Murrow award. Her work at KCUR has been recognized by the Missouri Broadcasters Association and the Kansas City Press Club. She is a graduate of the University Of Missouri School Of Journalism. Elle regularly tweets photos of her dog, Kingsley. There is a wounded Dr. Ian Malcolm bobblehead on her desk.