Resume

EXPERIENCE

ProPublica/Texas Tribune, Houston, Texas — Investigative reporter
March 2020 – present

• Part of ProPublica’s investigative Texas unit in collaboration with The Texas Tribune producing accountability journalism with a focus on racial disparities, border and the environment.

Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas — Reporter
April 2019 – March 2020

• Produce breaking news and enterprise coverage of environmental issues in the Houston region, including spills, fires and incidents in the petrochemical industry.
• Use of public records laws to produce data-driven work including analysis of enforcement of environmental laws.
• Collaborate with other journalists to produce in-depth investigations.

Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Ariz. — Projects reporter
Dec. 2012 – June 2016; July 2017 – April 2019

• Breaking news and enterprise coverage of the border and immigration in Arizona and Sonora, Mex.
• Use of public records laws to produce data-driven work including analysis of migrant deaths, immigration trends, and the implementation and impact of state immigration law SB 1070.
• Cross-border reporting of cartel violence and environmental issues, including a mine spill in neighboring Sonora.
• Collaborate with other journalists and media outlets to produce award-winning work, including a print and radio feature that has been recognized at the local, state and national level.
• Mentor college students through class participation and apprenticeship program to help them produce a wide-range of news stories, as well as participate in immigration panels in the community.

Robert Bosch Stiftung, Berlin, Germany — Fellow
July 2016 – June 2017

• Intensive German language courses, participation in seminars covering transatlantic issues.
• Conducting research on how immigration coverage in Germany differs from that in the United States.
• Senior editor at Coda Story, assisting with coordinating coverage of new migrant project and reporting.
• Collaborating with Der Tagesspiegel, one of Berlin’s top daily newspapers.

Chattanooga Times Free Press, Chattanooga, Tenn. — Reporter
July 2007 – October 2012

• Award-winning coverage of enterprise and breaking news stories focusing on immigrants and refugees in the South. Coverage primarily included Guatemalan and Middle Eastern communities as well as ongoing immigration debates, court cases and policy on the state and federal level.
• Funded by fellowships and grants from the Ford Foundation, traveled to Guatemala, Burundi and Tanzania to cover immigration issues from more than one side of the border. Assignments included extensive work shooting and editing video and photographs.
• Covering the higher education systems in Georgia and Tennessee, including half a dozen universities and community colleges, focusing on making complex policy topics relevant to local readers.

El Paso Times, El Paso, Texas — Reporter, co-editor
August 2005 –December 2005/March 2007 – July 2007

• Writing entertainment, health and parenting stories for the features section.
• Reporting and co-editing for two weekly publications, the English-language Eastside Reporter and the Spanish-language El Paso y Más, as well as some daily reporting for the El Paso Times.

Agencia Efe, Madrid, Spain — Intern
July 2006 – December 2006

• Covering legal cases at the county and national courts as well as law enforcement agencies for the international Spanish-language wire service.

Dow Jones Newswire, Madrid, Spain — Translator
July 2006 – December 2006

• Translating from English into Spanish articles involving European companies, including acquisitions, market talks and more in-depth reporting for the wire service.

El Diario de El Paso, El Paso, Texas — Reporter
August 2004 – August 2005

• Political reporter responsible for daily and enterprise stories covering county government, issue analysis and local elections.

EDUCATION

Master’s in News Agency Journalism
November 2005 – December 2006
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos/Agencia Efe, Madrid, Spain

Bachelor’s degree in Political Science
September 2001 – May 2004
University of Texas at Austin

AWARDS

• • AHCJ Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, 1st place in the investigative category; National Headliner Awards, 3rd place for online investigative reporting for digital partnerships; Charles E. Green Award for Excellence in Journalism, Star Investigative Report of the year, among others, for “Invisible Threat: Carbon  Monoxide’s Unchecked Toll,” a collaboration between ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and NBC News.
  • Named Arizona Reporter of the Year by the Arizona Newspapers Association.
  • Dori J. Maynard Award for Diversity in Journalism and national Edward R. Murrow Award for “Divided by Law;” Peabody and Livingston Award finalist.
  • French-American Foundation Immigration Journalism Award for the series “A Far Cry.”
  • David Ignatius Award for International Reporting for the series “Between Two Worlds.”
  • Investigative Reporters and Editors multiplatform category finalist for “State of Confusion.”

Additional Awards

FELLOWSHIPS/GRANTS

• Center for Health Journalism national fellow, 2017.
• Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. 2016.
• Institute for Justice and Journalism fellowship on immigrant families, 2015.
• U.S. State Department Professional Fellow, Africa exchange program for journalists, 2014.
• The changing face of America New York Times institute on immigration reporting, 2013.
• Grant from the Ford Foundation to travel to Burundi to report on the plight of refugees, 2012.
• Bringing home the world: international reporting fellowship program for minority journalists, 2011.
• Covering immigration training, International Center for Journalists, 2010.

LANGUAGES
Bilingual reporter with extensive experience writing, interviewing and reporting in both English and Spanish. Limited working proficiency in German (B1).

SKILLS
Shooting photos and video, editing video and audio, data journalism.

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