Our Team
Cathy Lewis
Cathy Lewis is host of HearSay, the popular lunch hour talk show that reaches more than 30,000 listeners each day. “I heard it on HearSay” has entered the lexicon in Hampton Roads, as the program has consistently been included in Hampton Roads’ “best of” lists. HearSay went on the air on WHRV 89.5 in October 1996.
Cathy is a regular winner of reader polls in PortFolio Weekly and Hampton Roads Magazine. In fact, she was named one of the “Women We Love” and one of the “100 Best People, Places and Things in Hampton Roads” by a panel of judges from PortFolio Weekly. She was also named one of the “50 Very Important People in Hampton Roads” by Hampton Roads Magazine.
An award-winning veteran of television and radio, Cathy is a popular keynote speaker. She is also a sought-after facilitator and moderator of forums, panels and seminars that bring people together to talk about the important issues that face us as citizens of the region and the nation.
In addition to her work at WHRV, Cathy serves as Executive Director of The CIVIC Leadership Institute, a program that brings together leaders from the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads to connect with each other and address challenges facing Southeastern Virginia. More than 300 senior-level leaders have experienced the program so far.
She is married to an Episcopal clergyman and they have one daughter who is both a high school scholar and athlete. Cathy’s series of television humor essays, The Preacher's Wife, has been featured regularly on the Hallmark Channel, which is seen in 41 million American homes.
Cathy serves as President of the Board of Trustees of The Williams School; President of the Board of Directors for Kids Voting Virginia (Hampton Roads) and is also a member of the boards of several other non-profit organizations throughout the community.
Cathy is a cum laude graduate of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University.
Cathy can be contacted at hearsay@whrv.org
Karla Martin joined the WHRV public affairs team as the senior producer of HearSay in October 2005. She brings with her a wealth of broadcast production experience. Karla began her career in 1986 as a news reporter/producer at WOWK-TV in Huntington, WV. The following year she moved to the position of news producer at WAVY-TV in Hampton Roads. She later joined TRI-COMM Productions in Hilton Head Island, SC as a writer and TV/Film Producer, where she won several Addy Awards.
Karla returned to the Hampton Roads area in 1994 and has since worked as a freelance news producer at WVEC-TV, account executive at Rubin Communications and producer of the WHRO-TV public affairs program, It’s Your Call.
Karla lives in Chesapeake with her husband, Andrew, an Optometrist, and their two sons. She is very active in the community serving on the PTA, volunteering at her church, and spending numerous hours on the side-lines of her sons’ soccer games.
Karla graduated from THE Ohio State University in 1986 with a degree in journalism and is an avid Buckeye fan.
To share your thoughts about HearSay, send story ideas, or talk college football contact Karla at: Karla.Martin@whrv.org.
Tayla Burney HearSay's associate producer was born and raised in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts and attended Suffolk University in Boston. While at Suffolk she was a member of the Archer Fellows program there and spent a semester in London before receiving her BA in English. Tayla is happy to be back on the East Coast after living in San Diego and working in nearby Coronado. A strong interest in current affairs and the arts drew Tayla to WHRV and HearSay. She lives with her husband and their adopted shelter dog in Norfolk and is a devoted Red Sox fan. Contact Tayla at: tayla.burney@whrv.org
Perry Smith serves as the audio engineer for HearSay. He joined the WHRO team in early 2004 after graduating from Old Dominion University with a degree in Engineering. While he currently has no pets, Cathy is encouraging him to adopt a ferret.
Perry can be contacted at: Perry.Smith@whro.org