Ari Odzer is ten-time Emmy® award-winning journalist and is currently the NBC 6 education reporter. Odzer joined the station in January of 1990 as a general assignment reporter. In 1994, he briefly worked for sister station WNBC in New York and returned to WTVJ in 1995. Odzer joined WTVJ from WPEC-TV in West Palm Beach where he was an anchor and reporter for three years.
During his time at WTVJ, Odzer has covered all major hurricanes since Andrew in 1992. Some of the big stories he’s covered include: the Elian Gonzalez controversy, 2000 presidential elections recount, the murder of Gianni Versace and the manhunt for his murderer, Andrew Cunanan, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, COVID-19 pandemic and the Surfside tragedy.
In 2014, Odzer established Education on 6 as a brand, with a focus on education features and issues. Throughout the pandemic, he covered all facets of distance learning, mask mandates, safety protocols, teacher and parent concerns, and learning deficits. Odzer says he finds education stories to be particularly rewarding, especially when highlighting the achievements of outstanding students.
Odzer, whose father was in the Air Force, was born in Izmir, Turkey. A self-proclaimed Air Force brat, his family finally settled in Pompano Beach when he was in the 5th grade.
Graduating from Deerfield Beach High School in 1982, Odzer received his Bachelor of Science in broadcast news with a minor in political science in 1987 from the University of Florida. He also began his broadcast career while in college, working as a reporter and anchor at WUFT-FM, in Gainesville. While in Gainesville, he also worked as a reporter and anchor at the CBS affiliate WRUF-AM and made the crossover into television by working as a reporter, anchor and photographer at the PBS affiliate WUFT-TV.
Today, Odzer lives with his wife, Dr. Shari-Lynn Odzer, in Northeast Miami-Dade County. He has two daughters, Jamie and Nicole, who are currently medical students and a son, Michael, who is currently entering his sophomore year of college. A high school basketball player, he still plays a weekly full court pickup game.
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The Latest
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‘Humiliating, degrading': Woman mistakenly arrested after cruise suing Broward County
A Texas woman whose similar name as a wanted suspect landed her behind bars in Broward on Christmas Eve two years ago is now suing the county and the deputy who busted her for the mistaken arrest.
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Fort Lauderdale goes beyond state's law on prohibiting homeless camping
With Florida’s so-called “anti-camping” law going into effect on Oct. 1, the City of Fort Lauderdale is taking its own steps to not only comply with the law but to go even further to move homeless people off the streets.
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Broward School Board spars over school repurposing program
The Broward County School Board has been weighing on what to do with school that are under-enrolled.
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South Florida teachers ‘shoulder the load' of shortages, voice concerns of social media in survey
Whether they work in a Broward or Miami-Dade County public school, teachers overwhelmingly told us they have too many kids in their classrooms.
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‘I cannot afford to live where I work': The top issue for school teachers in South Florida
NBC6 and Telemundo 51 surveyed South Florida teachers again this year, and we weren’t surprised to hear their top concern.
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Gators or Canes? Families divided but pumped for UF v. UM rivalry
NBC6’s Ari Odzer spoke to some families dealing with “house divided” situations
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Fierce opposition to state parks plans forces Florida to reschedule meetings
The “Great Outdoors Initiative” has also sparked bipartisan outrage.
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Pickleball at state parks? It could happen – Parkgoers react to ‘Great Outdoors Initiative'
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection unveiled its “Great Outdoors Initiative” on Monday, and almost immediately faced fierce opposition.
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‘Our community's voice is important': Change is coming to Broward, Miami-Dade school boards
The school boards of Broward and Miami-Dade counties are changing after Tuesday night’s election.
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Two newcomers win school board races in Broward, defeating DeSantis appointees
Each of the board’s DeSantis appointees lost their bids to be elected outright to their seats.