Maira Ansari

Maira Ansari anchors WAVE News at 3 and co-anchors WAVE News at 5, 5;30 and 6. She joined WAVE News in February 2007. She has more than 25 years experience in TV journalism.

Moving to Louisville is one the best decisions Maira says she has made. She says Louisville and WAVE is the reason her career has thrived. More importantly... Louisville is home. It's where she met her husband, who is the Dean of the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky, and has raised her two beautiful children.

Maira says storytelling for her changed after becoming a mother. She says it changed her perspective and empathy in a positive way, particularly when telling stories involving children and families.

"I feel like I approach stories with a deeper understanding of what a parent may be experiencing. Ansari said. "The struggles, the joys, the fear, the concern... that people have shared with me all hit differently. It's led me to be a better journalist and a better mom."

Maira is also passionate about talking about mental health issues. She is the producer and host of a podcast called "We Should Talk About It". "I don't know how this fell into my lap but, it's awesome," Ansari said. "I'm grateful for it. I get to help people and that's what I want to do. I'm really lucky WAVE has given me this platform. I don't want people to feel like they are alone and there is no shame if you are struggling. We can't get better as a society if we don't talk. Talking *judgment free* is so important. I think sometimes in the TV world people think we have it all together and we don't!!! Life is hard. We have to help the people around us."

Maira hosts various guests who come to talk about mental health issues and suicide awareness.

Maira also plays a critical role in WAVE's digital streaming platform WAVE Now, where she streams live press conferences, breaking news, and various medical segments. WAVE Now allows her to bring content in an unedited platform. "Sometimes in a newscast we only have 30 seconds to explain something," Ansari said. "WAVE Now, gives us the ability to bring you what's happening in it's entirety."

Maira is proud of her South Asian roots. Her parents immigrated from Pakistan, leaving everything they were familiar with, to start a better life in the United States. Her father is a retired physician.

"My dad is the reason I take so much interest in medical stories," Ansari said. "He always wanted me to be a doctor but, was incredibly supportive when I chose journalism. He always told me to do what makes me happy and whatever you do... put your heart into it."

Prior to calling Kentucky her home, Maira lived in Illinois her entire life and grew up in a small town in southern Illinois. Before moving to Louisville, she worked as the morning and midday anchor at WICD NewsChannel 15 in Champaign, Ill. She started her television career in Springfield, Ill at WICS. Before that, she was an intern at WCIA, the CBS affiliate in Springfield.

During her college career, Maira got a taste of what television journalism was all about -- everything from working in her college newsroom to interning in Los Angeles at the entertainment news magazine show EXTRA and traveling abroad to study television in London, England. It was a fantastic experience that she says she was thrilled to enjoy.

Maira graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. She earned her bachelor's degree in the university's top-rated radio/television program. She also earned a minor in marketing and speech communications. In 2002, Maira earned her master's degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Maira has traveled to more than a dozen countries and also speaks Urdu, the language spoken in Pakistan.

She is a proud dog mom too! She and her family got a Doberman Pinscher in 2021. Her name is Della. It's her first dog and they decided to go big! "I don't know how I have gotten by in life without a dog," Ansari said. "She's changed me. Something about her unconditional love and loyalty that I just can't put into words."

Maira also wants to share "What's Good" in WAVE Country. If you have something positive going on email her at: whatsgood@wave3.com.

"Thank you for letting me into your home and trusting me with your stories," Ansari said.