Experience
- Worked with Sunlight Search founder to conceptualize and launch a nonpartisan startup to train journalists and others to investigate the backgrounds of political candidates ahead of the 2024 elections.
- Hired staff, managed the organization's budget, directed research and collaborations with newsrooms and partner organizations and helped lead fundraising efforts.
- Work with the Statesman's investigative team to conceive, develop and publish high-profile accountability work.
- Directed the development of a complex, multi-part award-winning series exposing deadly problems in the Texas Medicaid waiver system.
- Worked with reporter Keri Blakinger to conceive and produce, in collaboration with NBC News, a regular investigative column focused on prison conditions and bringing those concerns to a national audience.
- Launched one of the company's first regional investigative teams. Identified and hired reporters with knowledge about the region and subject matters. Tracked story development while coordinating with editors across the country to produce print, video and analytic graphic content. As the top investigative editor for the South and West region, also worked with network properties across several states to keep tabs on local investigative work and offer editorial, reporting and data assistance.
- Directed the reporting, writing and presentation of a rolling investigation into the in-custody death of Javier Ambler, a Black man who was tased by deputies as he screamed that he could not breathe, all while Live PD television cameras rolled. The stories won national awards and led to criminal indictments of those involved and a Texas law banning TV producers from using policing for entertainment purposes.
- Directed the reporting, writing and presentation of a five-part series that exposed that Texans were dying in their homes from crippling heat as state regulators allowed private utility providers to quickly shut off power to vulnerable, chronically ill and low-income residents. The series led to both state legislative and congressional hearings on heat-related deaths and utility regulation.
- Led a seven-person politics bureau for the largest daily newspaper in the state. As a player-coach, covered the Texas governor's office and the state criminal justice system, while directing the coverage of reporters ranging from interns to newsroom veterans.
- Successfully directed the transition from a print-first, traditional bureau with storied journalists to a nearly entirely new and diverse cohort of investigative and multimedia journalists with a digital-first focus. Rejuvenated the bureau's long-standing reputation as a leader in breaking political news and accountability journalism.
- Conceived and initiated "What She Said," a highly successful weekly Facebook Live interview series in which the women reporters of the Morning News Austin bureau interviewed female lawmakers about Texas politics and the challenges women face in that arena.
- Managed the production of investigative projects, working with all other departments, from photography to social media and marketing to create high-impact packages. Implemented the use of Basecamp to manage projects throughout the newsroom. In addition to editing project work, directed four environment reporters and helped lead the paper's coverage of California's historic drought.
- Within the first three months, successfully conceived and launched an interactive data analysis of all bicycle hit-and-run accidents in L.A. County over the previous decade. Our work showed that while all other hit-and-run crashes declined, bicycle accidents grew and largely went unsolved. It immediately led state lawmakers to renew calls for stronger laws to protect cyclists.
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Managed the day-to-day operations of an award-winning, 20-person newsroom,
assigning and editing daily coverage and overseeing short- and long-term
investigative projects. Coordinated work among
the Trib’s news apps, multimedia and art teams to produce high-impact
stories with a focus on holding state officials accountable.
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Led the Tribune’s investigative projects, including overseeing the series
"Faking the Grade," which revealed how Texas spent millions of federal
dollars on private tutoring for the state's poorest students but had
little to show for it. The series won state and national awards.
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Lead editor and project manager for
"Hurting for Work,"
a four-part series that revealed flaws in Texas' workers compensation
program that left hundreds of injured workers and their families without help
after catastrophic accidents.
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From the Texas Senate floor, directed team coverage of state Sen. Wendy
Davis' 11-hour filibuster against abortion restriction legislation. Our
team coverage garnered national attention and won the 2013 Investigative
Reporters and Editors award for innovation in watchdog journalism.
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One of nine founding employees, helped launch one of the first nonprofit, nonpartisan online news outlets in the nation, which is now a model for digital-first journalism and sustainability. Balanced reporting duties with a key editing role, helping to develop processes and tracking systems for content development and production. Covered border security, immigration and criminal justice
beats with a focus on Texas politics and policy. Also managed
the Tribune’s internship program, identifying, hiring and managing up to 10 interns each
semester.
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Investigated the case of mentally ill death row inmate Andre Thomas,
producing a six-part series in the Tribune, a narrative tale in Texas
Monthly magazine. The work also ran in The New York Times and was a finalist for the national 2014 Dart Awards for
Excellence in Coverage of Trauma.
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Used computer assisted reporting skills to analyze a database requested
through open records laws that contained thousands of reports of deaths in
police custody statewide over a five-year period. The story revealed that
hundreds of inmates died in local jails that lacked state health care
standards.
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In a one-person bureau, led coverage of the Texas Legislature and politics
with a focus on El Paso and the border region. Used open records laws to
report on Gov. Rick Perry’s ineffective border camera program.
Education
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2005 – Bachelor of Arts in History/Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin
Accomplishments
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2021 - Multiple national and state awards for Javier Ambler reporting, including 2021 Hillman Prize, Dan Rather Medal for News and Guts and Texas Headliners Foundation Gold Showcase Award for Enterprise and Innovation.
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2016 - Completed The Dallas Morning News' year-long newsroom leadership development program.
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2014 - Online News Association topical reporting winner for "Hurting for Work"
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2014 – Gavel Award from the State Bar of Texas for the six-part series “Trouble in Mind”
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2014 – Society of Professional Journalists best deadline reporting for “Abortion Filibuster”
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2013 – Gavel Award from the State Bar of Texas for the six-part series “Errors in Judgment”
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2012 – Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting on the case of Megan Winfrey
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2012 – Journalist Law School at Loyola Law School Los Angeles, California
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2012 – City University of New York Center on Media, Crime and Justice/H.F. Guggenheim Journalism Fellow New York City, NY
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2009 – Investigative Reporters and Editors Computer Assisted Reporting Boot Camp at the University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, Missouri
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2007 – Associated Press Managing Editors First-Place Award for using the Freedom of Information Act
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2007 – ACLU of Texas legislative reporter of the year
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2004 to Present – Completed 14 Ironman 70.3 races, including the 2019 World Championships. Completed two Ironman races. Completed multiple full-distance Xterra triathlons, including 2nd elite female at Xterra Dominican Republic 2021, 13th elite female at Xterra World Championship 2021 and 1st elite female Xterra Puerto Rico 2023. Qualified for elite triathlon license in 2019. Finished eight marathons, including Boston Marathon.