Suzanne Perez
Education Reporter | Assistant News DirectorSuzanne Perez is a longtime journalist covering education and general news for KMUW and the Kansas News Service. Before coming to KMUW in 2021, Suzanne worked more than 30 years at The Wichita Eagle, where she covered schools and a variety of other topics. In addition to her news reporting, Suzanne reviews books for KMUW, co-hosts the monthly Books & Whatnot podcast and helps lead the station’s monthly Literary Feast book club. She created the #ReadICT Reading Challenge, an annual partnership with the Wichita Public Library that encourages adults to read more broadly.
When not reporting or writing, Suzanne enjoys cooking and traveling with her husband, Andy, playing fetch with their Labrador retrievers, Zeke and Raina, and snuggling with her cat, the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Suzanne has been honored with a National Edward R. Murrow Award for hard news for her story about social-emotional learning in schools: Research shows social-emotional learning in schools pays off, but conservatives see a liberal agenda. She won a national Society of Professional Journalists award for 3,000 Kansas kindergartners and untold preschoolers skipped last year. Now they’re behind, and a national Public Media Journalists Association award for Derby residents pack school board meeting to support principal’s lesson on ‘white privilege’. She has also won numerous Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards for her education coverage.
Suzanne can be reached by email at perez@kmuw.org.
-
Grace Walker’s debut novel, "The Merge," opens in a world where Earth’s resources have been pushed to a breaking point. That has given rise to a controversial new procedure in which two people’s consciousness can be combined and exist in one body. -
"The Correspondent" was published back in April with little fanfare. But months after its release, the Virginia Evans debut made the New York Times Bestseller list and is a breakout hit, which speaks to the power of human connection. -
Gwen Ottenberg, owner of Imagine That Toys in Wichita, offers some suggestions for card and board games for upcoming holiday gatherings. -
Aja Gabel's sophomore novel, "Lightbreakers," explores a wide range of questions ranging from environmental concerns to deep personal loss. -
Amy Warren and Amy Jensen defeated incumbents to win seats on the Wichita school board in Tuesday's election, according to unofficial results. Board president Diane Albert and District 2 member Julie Hedrick were reelected. -
Catherine Newman's new novel, "Wreck," is set two years after her previous best-seller, "Sandwich." It finds main character Rocky back home in western Massachusetts and once again surrounded by family. -
Anna North's newest novel, "Bog Queen," offers everything fans love about historical fiction: a fascinating look back through time with memorable characters, remarkable settings and a story that moves along at a steady clip. -
In Rachel Harrison's new novel, "Play Nice," a woman must confront the demons of her past when she tries to fix up her childhood home. -
Voters in November will decide four seats on the Wichita school board. KMUW invited candidates in each of those races to join us for a discussion of student achievement, aging schools, diversity and other topics. -
Crews converted the old Southeast High School’s former library into a new boardroom, which doubles as a staff training room. The total cost for the project is estimated at $571,000.
