Emily Le Coz is Suncoast Searchlight’s executive editor-in-chief and oversees the newsroom’s editorial strategy and day-to-day operations. Emily comes to Suncoast Searchlight from USA TODAY, where she spent five years as an investigative reporter and editor, producing and overseeing some of the news organization’s most ambitious work.

Prior to USA TODAY, Emily led GateHouse Media’s national data and investigations team, which published its work throughout the country. She also previously served as deputy investigations editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where she was part of the award-winning Bias on the Bench series.

Her work over the years has won multiple awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, APME Public Service Award, ASNE Batten Medal, SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Award and National Headliner Award for Public Service, among others. She also was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and the Selden Ring Award.

Emily and her family have lived in Sarasota since 2015.

Reach Emily via email at emily@suncoastsearchlight.org

Josh Salman is the investigations editor at Suncoast Searchlight. Before joining the nonprofit newsroom, he spent three years as a watchdog editor at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Born and raised in Sarasota, Josh returned home after college to work for the Charlotte Sun, then joined the Bradenton Herald and eventually the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, first as a business reporter and then as an investigative reporter. Josh later spent time on the national investigations teams at GateHouse Media and USA TODAY.

During his career, his work has triggered federal investigations, uncovered illegal activity by convicted felons, exposed loopholes that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars, prompted new state laws and helped struggling families save their homes. His reporting has won state, regional and national journalism awards.

Reach Josh via email at josh@suncoastsearchlight.org

Derek Gilliam is a watchdog/investigative reporter at Suncoast Searchlight. During his career, he has covered courts and crime, mental health, real-estate, economic development and general business issues for news organizations throughout Florida.

Most recently, Derek has focused on real estate and development while also covering local businesses for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where he untangled a particularly egregious example of real estate fraud months before the police arrested the fraudster. That story attracted the attention of a local legislator who then was able to pass a state law to close a loophole identified in his story.

A student of the University of Florida, Derek’s work has earned numerous statewide journalism awards. He has lived in Sarasota since 2021.

Reach Derek via email at derek@suncoastsearchlight.org

Alice Herman is a watchdog/ investigative reporter at Suncoast Searchlight. She has covered politics, labor and religion nationally, as well as in local communities in Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan.

In 2020 and 2021, she covered the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare workers, revealing abuses within temp healthcare agencies and exposing anti-union efforts by national and multinational corporations. Her reporting on the packing supplies company Uline revealed the company’s practice of contracting foreign workers to work on tourist visas for subminimum wages.

Before joining Suncoast Searchlight, Alice covered democracy and electoral politics in her home state of Wisconsin for the Guardian US. While there, she reported on election security, election administration and disinformation.

Reach Alice via email at alice@suncoastsearchlight.org

Samantha Ramlall is Suncoast Searchlight’s development director. She leads fundraising efforts, cultivates donor relationships and organizes events that connect the newsroom’s mission with the people it serves. She will also oversee membership programs and philanthropic partnerships that are critical to sustaining nonprofit newsrooms in today’s challenging media environment.

Before joining Suncoast Searchlight, Samantha worked for the statewide nonprofit Children’s Home Society of Florida, where she spent eight years helping the organization grow its donor base and most recently served as its associate vice president of major gifts.

She graduated from Flagler College and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). Samantha lives in Manatee County with her husband and dog, Frida.

Reach Samantha via email at samantha@suncoastsearchlight.org

John Dunbar is a watchdog/investigative reporter at Suncoast Searchlight with more than 25 years of experience as a reporter and editor.

Most recently, he served as executive editor of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, where he led statewide investigative efforts and expanded watchdog reporting. He previously held leadership roles at Bloomberg Industry Group and the Daily Memphian, and spent several years at the Center for Public Integrity, where he later became CEO.

Dunbar has written, edited and managed major investigative projects on topics ranging from the 2008 financial crisis to the influence of money in politics. His work has earned numerous honors, including a George Polk Award and recognition from Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists.

A graduate of the University of South Florida, Dunbar has deep ties to Florida and a longstanding focus on government accountability.

Reach John via email at john@suncoastsearchlight.org.

Emily Andersen is a watchdog/investigative reporter at Suncoast Searchlight. She comes to the nonprofit newsroom from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she covered public safety topics such as criminal justice, community safety trends, and social services on a local and statewide scale for The Gazette.

Reach Emily via email at eandersen@suncoastsearchlight.org.

Christian Casale is a local government/politics reporter for Suncoast Searchlight. You will likely find him at meetings for city and county commissions, where he covers how government, politicians and policy impact the everyday lives of local residents.

Before joining Suncoast Searchlight Searchlight, Christian also covered government as reporter for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for over two years. A life-long resident of the Sunshine State, Christian attended the University of Florida, where he was a reporter and editor at The Independent Florida Alligator.

Reach Christian via email at christian@suncoastsearchlight.org

Our Contributors

Aaron Mammah is a contributing writer and fact checker for Suncoast-Searchlight. He was a content intern at the Naples Daily News and was an alum of the Sports Journalism Institute in the Summer of 2024. He graduated from the University of South Florida with his bachelor’s degree in Communication in the Summer of 2024. There, he was the sports editor for The Oracle, the Tampa campus’ student newspaper. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, biking and watching sports.

Clinton Engelberger is a contributing writer and fact checker for Suncoast Searchlight. Since graduating from the University of South Florida last year, he has taken on multiple freelance roles with different publications, including The Times Union, OutSFL and The Washington Blade. He’s reported on a broad range of topics, such as coverage of pro-Palestine university protests, a look inside a community of LGBTQ truckers and the politicization of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in corporate America. Clinton recently moved from his hometown of Bradenton to Washington, D.C., where he lives with his partner and golden doodle Mickey.