Lucy Nalpathanchil
Vice President, Community EngagementLucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.
Before becoming a member of the company's senior leadership team, Lucy was the Executive Producer and Host of Connecticut Public's morning talk show and podcast, Where We Live, for nearly seven years. Under her leadership, WWL went beyond news headlines and interviews with policymakers to feature more conversations about Connecticut and the stories of its residents.
In 2021, Lucy and the Where We Live team received a first-place award among large stations from Public Media Journalists Association or PMJA for this interview with a Norwich woman. In 2020, Lucy received a national Gracies Award from the Alliance for Women in Media in 2020 for her conversation with a Connecticut mother and her trans-son.
Where We Live received two national awards in 2018 from Public Media Journalists Association, formerly known as Public Radio News Directors, Inc., or PRNDI. Lucy and the Where We Live team was awarded second place in the categories of "Call In Program" and "Interview."
Lucy has been a public radio journalist for more than 20 years covering everything from education to immigration, juvenile justice, and child welfare issues to veterans' affairs and the military. Her reporting has taken her to all sorts of places, including a ride aboard a Coast Guard boat in Florida and to Tambacounda, Senegal, to talk with women journalists and farmers.
She moved to Connecticut in 2006 to become WNPR's Assignment Editor.
She's also been local host for mid-day programming and for All Things Considered.
She’s contributed to National Public Radio and her stories have aired on several national NPR shows including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Weekend All Things Considered, Here and Now, and Latino USA.
During her time in Connecticut, Lucy has focused on immigration, including New Haven's ID card program, efforts for an in-state tuition law for undocumented students, and the Becoming American series: stories of immigrants and the citizenship process. In 2011, Lucy launched the Coming Home Project to tell the stories of returning Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans in transition. To learn more about the military, Lucy was chosen to take part in a week-long training for journalists hosted by the U.S Army at Fort Leavenworth, KS and Fort Leonard Woods, MO. Getting up at 3:30 am to participate in boot camp was most memorable!
She also was selected to join military reporters around the country for a conference hosted by the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative in Washington D.C.
Lucy has worked in several states as a public radio reporter after beginning her career at WDUQ (now WESA) in Pittsburgh. She's received awards from Pennsylvania's Golden Quill, the New York State Associated Press, the Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board in Jacksonville, Florida, the Connecticut Associated Press and the state's Society for Professional Journalists chapter.
Lucy enjoys traveling, hiking, and planning her next garden. She and her husband, Jason, live in Suffield with their two children and a small zoo.
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This hour, on Where We Live, we talk about how some companies are navigating a shorter work week while paying workers the same salaries. -
This hour on Where We Live, we explore the link between our physical and mental health. Doctors typically treat these areas of health separately, but there is a lot more connecting these two areas of health than you might think. -
This hour on Where We Live, we look into cutting-edge research and the legislative push needed to improve the quality of life for patients with rare diseases. -
Lynn Malerba, chief of the Mohegan Tribe, is the first Native American to serve as U.S. treasurer. She said her appointment is a commitment to having Native voices heard at the highest levels of government. -
This hour on Where We Live, we talk about how experiences coming of age impact us into adulthood. Melissa Febos, author of the bestselling memoir 'Girlhood,' joins us. -
This hour, we hear from Jen Hewett, textile artist and author of "This Long Thread: Women of Color on Craft, Community and Connection." Plus, Susi Ryan is an author and quilter with roots in Connecticut. -
New Haven artist and architect Mohamad Hafez creates moving sculptures that challenge preconceived notions of refugees. This hour, we visit his studio, just above his new cafe and "cultural salon" in Westville. -
New London has been designated a "site of memory" by UNESCO, marking the arrival of the Speedwell schooner, and the city’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Hear from local historians about their research, showing the Speedwell represents a small part of the city’s links to slavery. -
This hour on Where We Live, Sy Montgomery joins us to talk about her latest book, 'The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty.' We learn about Sy’s lessons in falconry and what it takes to handle these incredible creatures. -
In this hour of Where We Live, Indra Nooyi, former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, talks about her new book “My Life in Full,” and how Corporate America should step up on paid leave and pay parity.
