Ariel Van Cleave

Ariel Van Cleave is WBEZ’s Senior Editor for Audio. She has experience as a reporter, producer and host. Ariel had her first brush with public radio while working at WCBU as a student at Bradley University. After graduating, she moved to Springfield to work as a statehouse reporter for the Illinois Radio Network while earning her master’s in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Ariel is a native Illinoisan and stuck closer to home for her first job at WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana. But she’s also worked in far-flung places, such as KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska.

She most recently worked as a Morning Edition producer/Weekend Edition Saturday host at KNKX in Seattle. While Ariel was there, she helped save the station from being sold to its competitor, reported extensively on issues affecting tribes in Washington state, participated in NextGen Radio as a mentor and helped usher in a regionally-focused project called “KNKX Connects.” When she’s not worried how things are sounding on the air, Ariel is a movie/TV fiend, uses her spidey senses to find the perfect spot for karaoke and will gladly volunteer for any road trip any time.