Matthew Copeland is WyoFile’s chief executive and editor. Copeland brings nearly two decades of management, professional communications and community engagement experience to the role — more than half of it with Wyoming nonprofits. He is an award-winning writer who began his relationship with WyoFile as a freelance reporter. In 2016 he served as WyoFile’s interim editor and was instrumental in rapidly expanding both readership and reader engagement. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Matthew studied as a Howard Hughes Scholar of the Life Sciences and competed as a student athlete at Penn State, then served a six-year corporate sentence in the internet technology industry. Upon escape he found his way home to Wyoming where he met his wife, started a family and was thoroughly ruined for a life lived anywhere else. Copeland is an avid hunter, angler and wild-country junkie who believes that facts matter, that integrity is non-negotiable, and that nothing is as powerful as a good story well told. Contact: matthew@wyofile.com.
Angus M. Thuermer Jr. reports about natural resources, criminal justice, federal lands, policy and other issues across the state, topics that have engaged him as a Wyoming journalist for the past 37 years. He lives in Jackson and joined WyoFile in the summer of 2014. He reported and photographed for many years for the Jackson Hole News. He was editor of that paper and of the Jackson Hole News&Guide. He served on the board of the Wyoming Press Association and is a past president of that organization. He is co-owner and photographer of the Jackson Hole Ski Atlas, has volunteered as an obituary editor for the American Alpine Journal, and works with the League of Women Voters to host election forums in Teton County. He settled in Jackson in 1978 after a stint as an alpinist, rock climber and Wyoming oilfield roughneck. He graduated from Yale with a BA in English in 1974 after growing up in the Washington, D.C. area and overseas as a Foreign Service brat. He enjoys fly-fishing, photography, skiing, mountaineering, boating, hunting and wilderness travel where the outcome is uncertain. Contact: angus@wyofile.com.
Andrew Graham reports on state government and policy issues and impacts ranging from immigration to energy to criminal justice. He provides full-time coverage of the Wyoming Legislature during its sessions. Andrew has spent time reporting and living in Gillette, Cheyenne and Laramie, and won a Society of Professional Journalism “Top of the Rockies” award for his investigative and enterprise reporting in coal country.. He is a graduate of the University of Montana’s masters program in environmental journalism. His first story for WyoFile was an investigative report on oil pipelines under rivers, a pivotal experience that led him to pursue in-depth reporting. When not working, he likes to ski, drive long distances and explore new country. Contact: andrew@wyofile.com
Guy V. Padgett serves as WyoFile’s operations manager. Padgett has long been interested in public life in Wyoming. During his time in Casper, Padgett served on numerous non-profit boards, volunteered as an election judge, and served on the Casper city council, including a term as mayor. He has worked as an Assistant Curator of Education at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, as well as the Executive Director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. Padgett is a graduate of the University of Wyoming, and completed a Master’s degree in International Studies from the University of Denver in June of 2011. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado, with his husband and their cat. Contact: guy@wyofile.com.
Elyse Guarino, WyoFile’s community engagement manager believes in the the power of knowledge, strong communities, seeking understanding and genuine collaboration. Her diverse career as an outdoor leadership instructor, volunteer manager, graphic designer, coordinator of the International Climbers Festival and executive director of WyoClimbers evidence an affinity for challenges that engage her curiosity and offer opportunities to learn from others. When not working to build a more informed and engaged Wyoming citizenry she creates one of a kind artworks, pursues extended expeditions in the wilderness and explores new experiences with people and opportunities near and far. Contact: elyse@wyofile.com