For more than a decade, Wendy Thies Sell was the face of news on the Central Coast, starting as an anchor and on-air reporter in 1995 at KCOY before taking on an expanded role for KSBY in 1999. In 2008, the Wisconsin-raised broadcast journalist became pregnant with her first child and considered what life would be like with a baby while running the news at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. each day.
“I couldn��t imagine anchoring the news, getting home at midnight, taking care of a newborn, and doing it again the next day — it was such a demanding job,” said Thies Sell. “I decided that motherhood was more important than being on TV.”
It was a fortuitous move, as her daughter, Sienna, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 4. “She needed full-time care,” said Thies Sell. “It was really a shock to our family and life-altering for all of us.”