Matt Butler
Editor-in-Chief
Matt has been with The Ithaca Voice since August 2020, serving as managing editor and reporting on public health, education, and government. He previously spent four years with the Ithaca Times, two as the paper’s managing editor, working a variety of beats during that time. Butler graduated from the University of Delaware in 2016 with a degree in international relations and journalism. He enjoys eating, drinking and breathing.
Tips and anything else can be sent to mbutler@ithacavoice.org, or reach him in the newsroom at (607) 391-0327.
Jimmy Jordan
Senior Reporter
Jimmy joined The Ithaca Voice as a reporter in September 2021. He began as a citizen reporter in 2017 at WRFI, Ithaca’s community radio station. There, he eventually rose to the role of News Director, managing a volunteer team of newshounds and bird-dogs. His time at WRFI fostered a deep appreciation for community-level reporting, environmental journalism, and stories that speak to both local and larger audiences.
Jimmy can be reached for news tips or story ideas at jjordan@ithacavoice.org.
Judy Lucas
General Assignment Reporter
Judy Lucas joined the Ithaca Voice as a reporter in April 2023 after a year stint at The St. Louis Business Journal. There, she crafted and created a newly formed beat, “Restaurants, Retail and the Supply Chain,” at the 50-year old publication. Before taking a swing at business reporting, Judy reported on the daily happenings in both the Senate and the House of Representatives for the Columbia Missourian. In the Missouri Capitol, she focused on pitching and publishing enterprise pieces about LGBTQ+ and social justice legislation. Judy has also reported for the Riverfront Times in St. Louis, Missouri and spent time in Barcelona, Spain, where she attended classes at the University of Barcelona, while interning for El Ruido, a National Geographic sponsored NGO that focuses on exposing human rights abuses around the world, particularly in the South Sudan and Central Americas. There, she managed the teams’ international social media presence and translated works from Spanish to English. Judy moved to Ithaca to learn about and investigate the inner workings of the community.
Judy can be reached for news tips and story ideas at jlucas@ithacavoice.org.
Megan Zerez
General Assignment Reporter
Megan Zerez is a reporter with the Ithaca Voice. She came to the Voice after several years at the Ithaca bureau for NPR member station WSKG. She got her start as a citizen journalist in 2017 when she unexpectedly found herself on the front lines of a major news event. A year and a half later she quit her job in biotech to pursue journalism professionally. Since then her work has appeared on numerous outlets including NPR, The City and The Texas Standard. In her free time she is a mediocre-but-enthusiastic angler.
Megan can be reached for news tips and story ideas at mzerez@ithacavoice.org.
Ron Van Ormer
Managing Director
Ron has collectively coordinated and managed programs in the non-profit sector for more than 25 years. He came to The Ithaca Voice after 11 years as a development officer at Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Ron enjoys hiking, traveling to new places, and relaxing at home with his wife, daughter, son, and whoever comes by. He holds degrees from Tompkins-Cortland Community College, University of Colorado-Boulder, and University of Denver.
Ron can be reached for general and sponsorship inquiries at (607) 391-0329 or rvanormer@ithacavoice.org.
Brian Crandall
Development Reporter
Brian has been a contributing writer for The Ithaca Voice since the launch of the organization in 2014. He reports on housing and development in Ithaca and Tompkins County. Brian is the author of Ithacating in Cornell Heights, a blog he has kept for more than 10 years that focuses on history and development at Cornell and in the Ithaca community. He also maintains an interactive Ithaca Project Map.
With atmospheric science degrees from Cornell and SUNY Albany, Brian is an air pollution scientist and meteorologist by profession and shares his expertise in the weekly weather column.
Brian can be reached for news tips and story ideas at bcrandall@ithacavoice.org.