Paige St. John joined the Sarasota-Herald Tribune in 2008 as an investigative reporter. She has been a working journalist for more than three decades, covering Florida politics, the environment and natural disasters. Her prior posts include statehouse bureau chief for Gannett News Service, environment reporter for The Detroit News, and Traverse City, Mich., correspondent for the Associated Press.

A product of what was once the nation's smallest accredited journalism program (Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville), St. John continues the school's tradition of multi-faceted journalism. She specializes in database-driven projects, graphics and web sites, narrative writing and investigative journalism. Past award­winning projects have exposed Florida's failure to protect environmentally sensitive beaches from rampant development, failure of federal regulators and medical device manufacturers to protect human lives, and institutionalized fraud within university enrollment systems.

She lives in Florida with her daughter and husband. They enjoy travel, horseback riding and kayaking.