Our Staff

Matt Adams

Director of Audience Growth and Engagement
- Email matt.adams@texastribune.org
- @themattadams
Matt Adams is the director of audience growth and engagement at The Texas Tribune. Before joining the Tribune in June 2023, he was the supervising editor for the audience team at NPR, where he focused on reaching new audiences and finding more ways for a radio company to do more things on the internet. Prior to NPR, he was a senior producer at National Geographic, leading the team that ran Nat Geo's online photo community that hosted over 1 million members. He helped lead the redesign of the platform and produced the Best in the World photo assignment where one community member's photo was featured on the cover of Traveler magazine. Matt earned a bachelor's degree in photojournalism from Point Park University and a master's degree in visual communications and multimedia production from Ohio University. He's based in Austin, but Pittsburgh will forever be home.
Andy Alford

Director of Editorial Recruitment, Training and Career Development
Andy Alford joined the Tribune as director of editorial recruitment, training and career development in March 2022 after a 24-year run at the Austin American-Statesman, where she rose from reporter to assistant metro editor, metro editor, senior editor and then managing editor. As managing editor since 2018, she oversaw a newsroom of more than 60 journalists; a near-doubling of digital subscriptions; and award-winning coverage that prompted the Texas Managing Editors to recognize the Statesman as Texas newspaper of the year for 2013, 2014 and 2016. Born in Dallas, Andy enrolled at Florida A&M University to study engineering, but later found her calling in journalism, her major after she transferred to the University of Houston. Read Articles by Andy Alford
Rebekah Allen

Politics Editor
Rebekah Allen is the politics editor for The Texas Tribune, where she previously served as the news editor. Before joining the Tribune, she worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News. Previously, she was an investigative reporter and statehouse reporter for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and an education reporter at the Pensacola News Journal in Florida. Read Articles by Rebekah Allen
Liam Andrew

Chief Product Officer
- Email landrew@texastribune.org
- @mailbackwards
Liam Andrew leads the Tribune's software strategy and operations, and oversees the engineering, design, and analytics teams. He joined the Tribune in 2015 as a developer, bringing a background in software engineering, product strategy, and user experience design from media startups and academic research labs. An Iowa native, Liam holds a master's degree in Comparative Media Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in literature and music from Yale University.
Carla Astudillo

Senior Data Visuals Developer
Carla Astudillo is a senior data visuals developer with a focus on elections and political data. Before joining the Tribune in 2019, she was a data and interactive visuals journalist at NJ.com and The Star-Ledger in New Jersey, where she helped build a database of police use of force in the state as part of a 16-month investigative project. She earned a master’s degree from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. Carla was born in Antofagasta, Chile and moved to the United States when she was 7 years old. After brief stints in Texas and New Mexico, her family settled in Lakeland, Florida, where she grew up. She is based in Austin and speaks Spanish fluently. Read Articles by Carla Astudillo
Rob Avila

Technical Director
- Email robert.avila@texastribune.org
Rob Avila is the Technical Director for The Texas Tribune. He was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas and has been living in Austin since 2009. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin. Rob specializes in live event production, audio, video, lighting, post-production, and virtual events. Rob has over a decade of production experience with a constant drive to master his craft, learning new skillsets and researching the latest production technology/applications. Outside of work, he enjoys creating music, programming light shows, and creating abstract projection visuals.
Tara Ballew

Grants and Awards Manager
- Email tara.ballew@texastribune.org
Tara Ballew joined the Tribune as the grants and awards manager in May 2022. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication with an emphasis on multiplatform journalism from Sam Houston State University. She currently is working toward a Master of Public Administration degree through Lamar University. Previously, Tara interned as an account executive at Priority One Public Relations under the direction of former White House communications staff. Tara is a native Texan, coming to Austin from Huntsville. She loves to travel, having visited friends in Australia, and is obsessed with her cat, Pixie.
James Barragán

Politics Reporter (On Leave)
James Barragán is a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. He is on leave during the 2023-24 academic year as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and had previous stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, James was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA. He is based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker. Read Articles by James Barragán
Morgan Bennett

Accounts Receivable Specialist
- Email mbennett@texastribune.org
Morgan Bennett is The Texas Tribune’s business administrator, organizing the Tribune’s revenue streams and providing general operational support. They are a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where they became interested in nonprofit operations through their work with various student and community organizations. Before joining the Tribune in 2019, they worked at their hometown newspaper, the Colorado County Citizen.
Karishma Bhuiyan

Design Fellow
- Email karishma.bhuiyan@texastribune.org
- @1xvemaze
Karishma Bhuiyan is a design fellow, ensuring visual consistency across brand products and platforms. She is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and received her undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Texas at Arlington. Karishma was born and raised in Dallas and is a native Bangla speaker. She has studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea. In her free time, you’ll find her scrolling through the depths of the internet or rewatching her favorite films.
Neelam Bohra

Disability Reporting Fellow
Neelam Bohra is a disability reporting fellow, covering accessibility issues affecting Texans. Through a partnership with the National Center on Disability and Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and The New York Times, Neelam will spend the 2023-24 fellowship term based in Austin. She has previously reported on labor policy for Politico, national culture for CNN Digital, and covered abortion, COVID-19 and the 2021 winter storm as a past fellow for The Texas Tribune. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and a native of McKinney, Texas, Neelam spent the last year reporting on disability and general breaking news for the Times’ National Desk. Read Articles by Neelam Bohra
Ellen Burris

Festival Director
- Email ellen.burris@texastribune.org
Ellen Burris joined The Texas Tribune in spring 2023 as festival director, bringing with her 20 years of event production experience. Based in Austin, she worked on the production team at SXSW for 17 years where she served as head of production for the last seven of those years. In November of 2021, Ellen joined Beto O'Rourke's gubernatorial campaign as events manager. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Zoology, specializing in Entomology. She continues to enjoy turning over rocks to look for bugs in her spare time.
Darla Cameron

Managing Editor for Visual Journalism
Darla Cameron is the managing editor for visual journalism for The Texas Tribune. She oversees the work of the photo, multimedia and data visuals teams and works closely with the product, engineering and design teams to elevate the Tribune’s visual journalism. Previously, she was the data visuals editor, leading a team of developers at the intersection of graphics and news applications. Before joining the Tribune, she worked at The Washington Post and the Tampa Bay Times. Darla is a Colorado native with a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Read Articles by Darla Cameron
Sewell Chan

Editor in Chief
Sewell Chan joined The Texas Tribune as editor in chief in October 2021. Previously he was a deputy managing editor and then the editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times, where he oversaw coverage that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 2021. Chan worked at the New York Times from 2004 to 2018, as a metro reporter, Washington correspondent, deputy Op-Ed editor and international news editor. He began his career as a local reporter at the Washington Post in 2000. A child of immigrants, Chan was the first in his family to graduate from college. He has a degree in social studies from Harvard and a master's in political science from Oxford, where he studied on a British Marshall scholarship. He serves on the boards of Columbia Journalism Review, Freedom House and Harvard Magazine. He is a member of PEN America, the Council on Foreign Relations and numerous journalism organizations. He was elected to the board of the Pulitzer Prizes in 2022 and joined the national judging panel of the Livingston Awards in 2023. Read Articles by Sewell Chan
Meadow Chase

Fellow
- Email meadow.chase@texastribune.org
- @fiza11k
Meadow Chase is a marketing and communications fellow and a senior studying journalism at Texas State University in San Marcos. Previously, she was an editorial intern for Texas Highways magazine, a digital editorial intern for Tribeza magazine and the engagement editor for The University Star, Texas State’s student-run news organization. Meadow grew up in Magnolia, northwest of Houston.
Natalie Choate

Chief Operating Officer
- Email nchoate@texastribune.org
Natalie Choate is an expert strategist and communications specialist with extensive experience of creative problem solving. Throughout her career, she’s built resilient systems and frameworks to drive results across a range of domains and industries. Prior to her work leading marketing and communications in nonprofit media, she ran local and regional political campaigns in Texas and drove successful public policy initiatives in the Texas Legislature. As a small business owner, Natalie is driven by the opportunity to build brands and bring big ideas to life.
Matthew Choi

Washington Correspondent
Matthew Choi is a Washington correspondent for The Texas Tribune. He previously covered energy and climate policy at Politico, where he wrote the Morning Energy newsletter and covered campaign events as a breaking news reporter during the 2020 presidential election and the Mueller investigation. Before joining Politico, Matthew was a two-time reporting fellow at The Texas Tribune based in Austin, reporting on education, health care, immigration, guns, agriculture and land management. He graduated from Northwestern University where he studied journalism and political science and was managing editor of The Daily Northwestern. Matthew is a native of Northern Virginia and speaks both French and English. In his free time, Matthew enjoys cooking French country food while listening to Simon and Garfunkel. Read Articles by Matthew Choi
Lexi Churchill

Research Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit
Lexi Churchill was most recently a Scripps Howard research fellow at ProPublica, where she published an investigation exposing how the Trump administration’s quick and quiet crackdown on Idaho’s Medicaid procedures created new red tape that kept children with special needs and the state’s poorest residents from maintaining insurance. She also led reporting efforts for the “Sins of Omission” project and has been involved in ProPublica's coronavirus coverage over the last few weeks. Before joining ProPublica, Lexi interned at several organizations, including CNBC and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lexi will report to Katie Zavadski, the research editor at ProPublica. Read Articles by Lexi Churchill
Kiah Collier

Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit
Kiah Collier is an Austin-based reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy. Read Articles by Kiah Collier
Natalia Contreras

Votebeat Texas Reporter
Natalia Contreras covers election administration and voting access for Votebeat in partnership with The Texas Tribune. She has covered a range of topics as a community journalist including local government, public safety, immigration and social issues. Natalia previously reported for the Austin American-Statesman, focusing on impacts of government policies on communities of color. Natalia previously worked at the Indianapolis Star, where she helped launch the first Spanish-language newsletter, and at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. She was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas in Mexico and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is based in Austin. Read Articles by Natalia Contreras
Clair Croslin

Director of Finance
- Email clair.croslin@texastribune.org
Clair Croslin came to The Texas Tribune in 2020 from an Austin hospitality group. An Austin native, Clair started working in restaurants, attended ACC, and moved to New York to complete her degree in Applied Mathematics at Queens College. While in New York, she began bookkeeping for restaurants, coffee shops and websites. She fell in love with the Tribune's mission when an ACC professor assigned a Tribune event for extra credit in her Texas government class.
Vianna Davila

Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit
Vianna Davila is a reporter with the ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit. Previously, she was the editor of The Seattle Times’ Project Homeless initiative, which examines the causes and effects of homelessness in the Seattle region. She began with the project in 2017 as a reporter, before becoming editor in 2019. Her work with the team was recognized by the Solutions Journalism Network as some of the best solutions reporting of 2018. She previously reported for the San Antonio Express-News, where over 13 years she produced stories on city politics, regional transportation and criminal justice. Her six-part project “The Next Million” explored gentrification, affordable housing, changing demographics and other urban issues in San Antonio, winning the Best of the West 2017 Journalism Contest for online presentation. She graduated from Rice University with a B.A. in English and master’s of journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, with a specialty in documentary film. Her master’s thesis film, “In His Blood,” about the lives of overnight television news videographers, was named the best documentary short at the 2009 San Antonio Film Festival. She has previously taught journalism at the University of Washington, Texas State University and Texas A&M University-San Antonio. She is a San Antonio native and a 10th-generation Texan. She is based in Austin. (Photo: Bettina Hansen, The Seattle Times) Read Articles by Vianna Davila
Zach Despart

Politics Reporter
Zach Despart is a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune. He investigates power — who wields it, how and to what ends — through the lens of Texas government. He has extensively covered the Uvalde school shooting, including a groundbreaking investigation on the role the gunman’s rifle played in the disastrous police response. He previously covered Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, where he reported on corruption, elections, disaster preparedness and the region’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey. An upstate New York native, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and film from the University of Vermont. Read Articles by Zach Despart
Sneha Dey

General Assignment Reporter
Sneha Dey is a general assignment reporter for The Texas Tribune. She covers how inequity plays out for children and families with an eye on the state’s foster care system. Prior to joining the Tribune, she had stints at the Chicago Sun-Times, NPR and Chalkbeat. Sneha is a graduate from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She grew up in New York and is based in Austin. Read Articles by Sneha Dey
Greta Díaz González Vázquez

Fellow
Greta Díaz González Vázquez is returning to the Tribune for a second summer as a 2023 fellow on the multimedia team, in partnership with the Dallas Press Club Foundation. She recently graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from The University of North Texas, where she also earned a certificate in narrative journalism. Greta worked as a journalist in Mexico for six years, freelancing and doing multimedia journalism for a public radio station. Her reporting is focused on gender violence in Mexico and science. Greta’s work has earned state and national awards in her home country, including the National Award for Science Journalism and the National Faces of Discrimination Award. Greta believes empathy is a fundamental ingredient for storytelling. Read Articles by Greta Díaz González Vázquez
Erin Douglas

Climate Reporter
Erin Douglas is the climate reporter for The Texas Tribune based in Austin where she covers the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought and hurricanes. Since joining the Tribune in 2020, she has reported on the toll flooding takes on mental health, investigated a chemical fire at an industrial facility, and covered the collapse of Texas’ power grid that led to widespread blackouts across the state. Her coverage of the Texas blackouts in 2021 was recognized by the Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Erin was previously a business and economy reporter at the Houston Chronicle where she covered labor, energy and the environment. She studied journalism and economics at Colorado State University, and her first newsroom job was interning at The Denver Post, her hometown newspaper. Read Articles by Erin Douglas
Robert Downen

Democracy Reporter
Robert Downen is a reporter covering democracy and the threats to it, including extremism, disinformation and conspiracies. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, he worked for five years at the Houston Chronicle. As a Hearst Media fellow, he developed what would become "Abuse of Faith," a landmark investigation into child sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention that prompted a Department of Justice investigation. Before coming to Texas, Robert was a business reporter in New York's capital region, and the managing editor of six newspapers in his home state of Illinois. He is a 2014 graduate of Eastern Illinois University. Read Articles by Robert Downen
Renzo Downey

Lead Writer, The Blast
Renzo Downey is the lead writer of The Blast, The Texas Tribune’s premium politics newsletter. Prior to joining the Tribune in February 2023, he worked as a state government and politics reporter and a newsletter editor for Florida Politics. He was previously an intern on the state desk at the Austin American-Statesman. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Renzo received his bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Northwestern University. Read Articles by Renzo Downey
Emily Dresslar

Director, Revenue Lab
- Email emily.dresslar@texastribune.org
Emily Dresslar is a former journalist who has developed a specialization in working on new ventures in news media, supporting digital innovation teams by managing operations, strategic partnerships and revenue development. Before joining the RevLab, Emily was Head of Business Operations for The Compass Experiment at McClatchy, a Google News Initiative-funded project. Prior to that, she was Head of Strategic Partnerships for Calkins Digital, an innovative technology start-up serving the news media industry. Emily earned a master’s degree in Media Strategy from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and she is also a past member of the board of directors of the Local Media Consortium.
Chris Essig

Data Visuals Editor
Chris Essig is the data visuals editor at The Texas Tribune. Based in Austin, he leads a team of developers who build charts, maintain public databases and analyze data to help reporters hold elected officials accountable. Chris has been a newsroom developer for 10 years and has worked in several local newsrooms. As a native of the Midwest, Chris received his journalism degree from Eastern Illinois University and spent six years in Iowa working at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids and at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in Waterloo. Read Articles by Chris Essig
Matt Ewalt

Director of Events and Live Journalism
- Email matt.ewalt@texastribune.org
Matt Ewalt joined The Texas Tribune as director of events and live journalism in March 2023. He previously worked at Chautauqua Institution in Western New York in various roles, including vice president and Emily and Richard Smucker Chair for Education and editor of The Chautauquan Daily. Serving alongside the Tribune's events team, Matt is responsible for the strategic vision and execution of the Tribune’s live journalism, which includes The Texas Tribune Festival and year-round events across Texas aimed at fostering civic engagement and democratic participation. He lives in Austin.
Joshua Fechter

Urban Affairs Reporter
Joshua Fechter is the Dallas-based urban affairs reporter for The Texas Tribune, covering policy — including housing affordability, housing and property taxes, evictions, policing and transportation — and politics in Texas' major metropolitan areas. Before joining the Tribune in August 2021, Joshua covered City Hall for the San Antonio Express-News. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Read Articles by Joshua Fechter
Irma Fernandez

Development Officer
- Email irma.fernandez@texastribune.org
Irma Fernandez is a development officer at The Texas Tribune. She is a graduate of St. Edward’s University and received a Fulbright grant to Brazil post-grad. Irma worked in politics for several cycles, spending time in Texas, Florida, and Nevada. She is an overly passionate sports fan, thinks Friday Night Lights is the greatest show of all time, and does it all for her dog named Ramsey.
Brandon Formby

News Editor
Brandon Formby leads the news desk, working most closely with the general assignment reporters who bring Texans the urgent news and necessary nuance that put pressing issues into perspective. Brandon was previously the night news editor through two regular and three special legislative sessions, the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic and the deadly 2021 winter storm. Before editing, Brandon was the Tribune’s Dallas-based urban affairs reporter, covering the state’s worsening housing affordability crisis, transportation challenges and Hurricane Harvey. He grew up in Plano, received a journalism degree from Texas Tech University and worked at The Dallas Morning News for more than 13 years. He is based in Austin. Read Articles by Brandon Formby
Emily Foxhall

Energy Reporter
Emily Foxhall joined The Texas Tribune as energy reporter in December 2022. She's focused on the state’s transition to green energy, the reliability of the power grid and the environmental impact of electricity generation. Emily is based in Houston, where she grew up. After a stint as a Tribune student intern in 2012, she began her career at the Los Angeles Times and its community papers. She later worked at the Houston Chronicle where her environmental reporting uncovered the effects of climate change and pollution on the region. She won several Texas Managing Editors awards and was part of the 2017 team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Emily graduated from Yale University in 2013, where she studied English and was a Yale Journalism Scholar. Read Articles by Emily Foxhall
Brandyn Friedly

DevOps Engineer
Nic Garcia

Regions Editor
Nic Garcia is a proud Colorado native who fell in love with Texas. Born in Pueblo, he studied journalism at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. Nic began his professional journalism career at Out Front, a Denver-based magazine that is one of the oldest LGBTQ news organizations in the U.S. He went on to work as a reporter or editor at Chalkbeat, The Denver Post and The Dallas Morning News. Most recently he was the politics editor at The Des Moines Register. Nic lives in Dallas and travels throughout the state as regional editor, overseeing reporters based in Lubbock, in West Texas, and Lufkin, in East Texas. Read Articles by Nic Garcia
Laura Garcia

Afternoon/Evening News Editor
- Email laura.garcia@texastribune.org
- @reporter_laura
Laura Garcia is the afternoon/evening news editor at The Texas Tribune. She is based out of San Antonio, where she grew up, but has roots in Cotulla. She previously reported on health care at the San Antonio Express-News and also has bylines at the Victoria Advocate, The Roanoke Times, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and the Longview News-Journal as well as The Ranger at San Antonio College. Laura is president of the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists, a nonprofit that raises funds for journalism student scholarships and advocates for diversity in newsrooms.
Uriel J. García

Immigration Reporter
Uriel J. García is an immigration reporter based in El Paso. Before joining the Tribune in 2021, he worked at the Arizona Republic where he covered police violence and immigration enforcement. He started his journalism career at the Santa Fe New Mexican where he covered the city's immigrant community and criminal justice issues. Originally from Mexico and a native Spanish speaker, Uriel grew up in Phoenix and graduated from Arizona State University. Read Articles by Uriel J. García
Eddie Gaspar

Associate Photo Editor
Eddie Gaspar is an associate photo editor at The Texas Tribune and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. They are based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker from the Rio Grande Valley. They were previously the photography fellow at the Tribune and was the Photo Editor at The Daily Texas and multimedia intern at KUT/X. Read Articles by Eddie Gaspar
Catherine Grooms

Advertising Operations Manager
- Email cgrooms@texastribune.org
Catherine Grooms manages advertising operations at The Texas Tribune. Before joining the Tribune in the fall of 2017, she worked as a clothing designer in New York, where she also attended Parsons School of Design. As a native Austinite, she is glad to be back in her hometown.
Julia Guilbeau

Audience Producer
Julia Guilbeau is an audience producer at The Texas Tribune, connecting readers with impactful stories. Before joining the Tribune in late 2022, she worked as a digital content editor for The Advocate | Times-Picayune, where she contributed to breaking news, social media and reader engagement projects. She graduated from the University of Louisiana Lafayette, where she majored in journalism. During her time at ULL, she interned at The Acadiana Advocate, covering everything from local business to the 2020 election and the rising opioid crisis in the region. A Lafayette, Louisiana native, she's passionate about Cajun culture, food and festivals. Read Articles by Julia Guilbeau
Dave Harmon

Environment, Energy and Immigration Editor
Dave Harmon joined the Tribune in 2017 after spending 18 years at the Austin American-Statesman as a reporter, assistant metro editor and member of the investigative team. A Kalamazoo, Michigan, native, Dave moved to Texas with his family in 1981 and went to high school in Katy. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a journalism degree, he started his reporting career in the Rio Grande Valley at The (McAllen) Monitor, covering health care and the environment on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border. Dave lives in Austin, is a proud Longhorns fan and taught journalism at his alma mater as an adjunct instructor for more than a decade. He’s proficient in Spanish and travels frequently to Mexico. Read Articles by Dave Harmon
Karen Brooks Harper

Health and Human Services Reporter
Karen Brooks Harper reports on the state budget and health and human services. An alumna of the University of Missouri-Columbia Journalism School, Karen arrived in Texas in 1995 to join the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, spent several years in Laredo and Mexico covering immigration and the drug war for Knight-Ridder newspapers, and has covered Texas politics for more than two decades for news organizations including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Dallas Morning News and Reuters. She is based in Austin. Read Articles by Karen Brooks Harper
Eli Hartman

Photo Fellow
- Email eli.hartman@texastribune.org
Eli Hartman is a 2023 Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellow on the Tribune's photography team. A native of the Permian Basin, Eli grew up in Midland before beginning his journalism career at the Odessa American. In 2022, Eli moved to Central Texas to return to school at Texas State University, working toward a bachelor's degree in photography.
Ashley Hebler

Engineering Manager
- Email ahebler@texastribune.org
- @ashleyhebler
Ashley Hebler is the engineering manager at The Texas Tribune and enjoys implementing engaging and meaningful experiences for users on the web. She received a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics at Texas A&M University and a master's degree in mass communication with a focus on digital media from Texas State University. Ashley is a native Texan from Galveston and enjoys navigating the beautiful rivers of the Texas Hill Country.
Sean Hennigan

Copywriter
- Email sean.hennigan@texastribune.org
Sean Hennigan started with the Tribune in early 2023 as a copywriter. He previously worked as communications director for Texas Impact, where he developed a love for the state and the public policy process, and as communications specialist with Abilene Christian University, where he fostered engagement between alumni and the university through impactful storytelling. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and religious studies from Centenary College of Louisiana and a master’s degree in media studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Born and raised in north Louisiana, Sean and his family live and work in Abilene.
Jinitzail Hernández

Video Journalist
Jinitzail Hernández joined The Texas Tribune as a video journalist in May 2022 and is interested in using video to tell immersive stories through the lives of the people affected by policy. Jini previously worked as the senior multimedia producer at CQ Roll Call in Washington, D.C., where she covered defense policy and politics through articles, podcasts and videos. Jini has also worked in Jerusalem as a press and policy fellow at The Media Line, a nonprofit American news agency. She graduated with a master's in journalism from Northwestern University and was awarded the Deborah Orin Scholarship from the White House Correspondents' Association. A Chicagoan, Jini is based in San Antonio and is a native Spanish speaker. Read Articles by Jinitzail Hernández
Reagan Hicks

Graphic Designer
- Email reagan.hicks@texastribune.org
Reagan Hicks is a graphic designer at The Texas Tribune and works to push the Tribune’s brand forward in fresh and exciting new ways. Before joining the Tribune, he was a multidisciplinary designer and art director at a small creative agency in East Austin. Originally from El Paso, he attended Texas State University, receiving dual degrees in Communication Design and Photography.
April Hinkle

Chief Revenue Officer
- Email ahinkle@texastribune.org
- 512-716-8634
April Hinkle is The Texas Tribune's chief revenue officer. She holds an advertising degree from the University of Texas and is responsible for the Tribune’s corporate revenue programs, speakers’ bureau and licensing of content. Previously April spent over 20 years at Texas Monthly, as retail advertising director, advertising and marketing director, associate publisher and publisher.
Pu Ying Huang

Director of Photography
Pu Ying Huang leads The Texas Tribune's photo team and is based in central Texas. Pu started working for the Tribune as a freelancer in 2017, chronicling Hurricane Harvey’s catastrophic flooding in Houston. Soon after, Pu moved to Bogotá, Colombia, where she honed her Spanish and created a moving body of work on the plight of migrants who have fled the decadelong economic and political crisis in Venezuela. During the tumultuous year of 2020, Pu photographed an encampment of asylum-seekers in Matamoros, Mexico, and protests in Houston that followed the murder of George Floyd. Her work has appeared in many outlets, including Reuters, Al Jazeera English, VICE, ProPublica, NBC News and NPR. Read Articles by Pu Ying Huang
John Jordan

Deputy Director of Photography
John Jordan is the deputy director of photography, part of the team that ensures our stories are graced with arresting visuals. Based in Austin, John grew up in South America and has managed to hang on to some Spanish. A lifelong musician, John switched careers at the age of 50, working for the Austin bureau of The Dallas Morning News for four years before joining the Tribune in early 2012. Read Articles by John Jordan
Ali Juell

Reporting Fellow
Ali Juell is an Austin-based reporting fellow. She is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is studying journalism. She was raised in Hawaii and northern California. Before joining the Tribune, Ali was an editorial intern at The Austin Chronicle and a senior reporter for The Daily Texan covering state and campus politics. In her free time, Ali enjoys running and making homemade pasta. Read Articles by Ali Juell
Dan Keemahill

DATA REPORTER, PROPUBLICA/TEXAS TRIBUNE INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
- Email dan.keemahill@texastribune.org
- @DanKeemahill
Dan Keemahill gathers and analyzes data for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative unit, a role he started in spring 2023. A native of Sacramento, Dan is a graduate of Northwestern University and started his journalism career as a contributor to the Tribune's schools and government salaries explorers. He previously worked with datasets related to immigrant detention centers, elections and the COVID-19 pandemic as a data journalist at USA Today and created data visualizations for the Austin American-Statesman.
Kassie Kelly

Membership Manager
- Email kassie.kelly@texastribune.org
Kassie Kelly oversees The Texas Tribune's membership program. She joined the Tribune in 2021 after managing the membership program at the San Antonio Report, a digital-only, local nonprofit news organization. Kassie received a bachelor's degree in music and political science from Trinity University. Before moving to Austin to join the Tribune team, Kassie called San Antonio home for the large majority of her life – and (rightly) believes San Antonio's breakfast tacos are far superior to Austin's.
Eleanor Klibanoff

Women's Health Reporter
Eleanor Klibanoff is the women’s health reporter, based in Austin, where she covers abortion, maternal health care, gender-based violence and LGBTQ issues, among other topics. She started with the Tribune in 2021, and was previously with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting in Louisville, where she reported, produced and hosted the Peabody-nominated podcast, “Dig.” Eleanor has worked at public radio stations in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Missouri, as well as NPR, and her work has aired on “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition” and “Here & Now.” She is conversational in Spanish. Eleanor was born in Philadelphia and raised in Atlanta, and attended The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Read Articles by Eleanor Klibanoff
Lomi Kriel

Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit
Lomi Kriel is a reporter with the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative unit. Previously she was a reporter at the Houston Chronicle covering immigration, often focused on the Texas border. Six months before the Trump administration announced its family separation policy, Kriel uncovered how the government was secretly using the prosecution of illegal entry to detain parents until deportation and send children to federal shelters. Her stories resulted in the release of one mother and helped spur a pivotal American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit largely ending the practice. She received the 2019 George Polk Award for national reporting, in part for her continued work on family separations. Kriel, who was born and raised in South Africa, immigrated to the United States in 1998. She has also worked as a Central American correspondent for Thomson Reuters and a criminal justice reporter for the San Antonio Express-News. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University and speaks Afrikaans and Spanish. Read Articles by Lomi Kriel
Evan Lambert

Chief Financial Officer
- Email elambert@texastribune.org
Evan Lambert joined the Tribune in October 2019 as chief financial officer. He brings a diverse background and experience in nonprofit financial management, international development, microfinance and public accounting. His previous experience includes working as the CFO of United Way for Greater Austin and as CFO of Pro Mujer International, a New York-based international development org serving more than 250,000 women in Latin America. A native of New York, Evan has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the McCombs School of Business at UT-Austin. He’s a father of two, a Peace Corps alum, an avid cyclist and outdoorsman, and fluent in Spanish.
Terri Langford

Health and Human Services Editor
Terri Langford is the Tribune's health and human services editor and is based in Austin. Langford is a veteran journalist, having worked at the Florida Times Union, The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, WNYC, Honolulu Civil Beat and Texas Standard/KUT. Langford has a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin. She has covered various city and state agencies, criminal justice and health and human services for the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Associated Press, WNYC and Texas Standard at KUT. Read Articles by Terri Langford
Chuck Lindell

Interim Politics Editor
Chuck Lindell came to The Texas Tribune in February 2023 as the Saturday editor. His career includes 33 years at the Austin American-Statesman, where he reported on politics and legal issues and previously worked as Washington, DC correspondent, assistant metro editor and copy editor. Chuck has also worked for newspapers in Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin, as well as Phoenix, Arizona, where he grew up as the oldest of seven kids. He earned a degree in journalism at Marquette University, was a onetime ballboy for the Phoenix Suns, and still roots hard for both teams. He is based in Austin. Read Articles by Chuck Lindell
Brian Lopez

Public Education Reporter
Brian Lopez is a public education reporter, covering how policy and politics affect Texas’ K-12 public education system and the nearly 5.5 million kids enrolled in public schools. Before landing at the Tribune in 2021, he was the Tarrant County reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Brian is a New York native but moved to Texas after high school. He graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington, is based in San Antonio and reports in both English and Spanish. Read Articles by Brian Lopez
Jayme Lozano Carver

Reporter/South Plains and Panhandle
Jayme Lozano Carver is the Tribune’s first Lubbock-based reporter, covering the South Plains and Panhandle through a partnership with Report for America. Jayme previously worked for Texas Tech Public Media, Lubbock’s NPR station, where she spearheaded “Rural Healthcare: The Other Texas Drought,” a series for PBS’ “Frontline” on rural hospital closures in Texas. She also covered a broad range of topics for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, including climate change, agriculture, entertainment and health care. Born in Levelland, Jayme is a native of the South Plains area and studied at South Plains College and Texas Tech University. She loves to talk about her cats, horror movies and pro wrestling. Read Articles by Jayme Lozano Carver
Natalie Martinez

Social Media Editor
Natalie Martinez is the social media editor at The Texas Tribune. Previously, she researched and reported on misinformation campaigns on social media and tech platforms for Media Matters for America and MoveOn. Natalie graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2017 with a B.A. in American Culture Studies and Film & Media Studies.
Alejandra Martinez

Environmental Reporter
Alejandra Martinez joined the Tribune in the fall of 2022 as a Dallas-based environmental reporter. She was previously an accountability reporter at KERA, where she began as a Report for America corps member and then covered Dallas City Hall. Before that, she worked as an associate producer at WLRN, South Florida’s public radio station. Alejandra studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, and interned at KUT and NPR's Latino USA. She's a native of the Aldine area of Harris County and speaks fluent Spanish. Read Articles by Alejandra Martinez
Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera

Education and Urban Affairs Editor
Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera is the education and urban affairs editor. He came to the Tribune in 2021 and is based in Austin. Alejandro previously worked as a digital editor at KUT.org, breaking news editor at the Austin American-Statesman and content editor at The University of Texas' Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. He has also worked as a reporter for several English- and Spanish-language publications covering the U.S.-Mexico border, drug violence, immigration, technology and public safety. Alejandro is a native Spanish speaker and grew up in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Texas at Austin and has impossibly high standards when it comes to tacos al pastor. Read Articles by Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera
Matthew McCrary

Senior Full-Stack Engineer
Kate McGee

Higher Education Reporter
Kate McGee covers higher education for The Texas Tribune. She joined the Tribune in October 2020 after nearly a decade as a reporter at public radio stations across the country, including in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Austin; Reno, Nevada; and New York. Kate was born in New York City and raised primarily in New Jersey. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Fordham University. Her work has appeared on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered,” “Here and Now,” and “The Takeaway.” She is based in Austin. Read Articles by Kate McGee
William Melhado

Night General Assignment Reporter
William Melhado is an Austin-based general assignment reporter. He originally joined the Tribune in 2022 as a Poynter-Koch fellow. He previously worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico. Before pursuing a career in journalism, William worked as an educator for five years and taught science at a public high school in the Bronx, New York and taught at international schools in Tanzania and Nepal. A native of Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and earned a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College. Read Articles by William Melhado
María Méndez

Service and Engagement Reporter
María Méndez works on efforts to better connect with Texans and writes explainers and guides. She strives to answer Texans’ questions about politics and public policy and to help them find resources. Previously, she reported on public education at the Austin American-Statesman, border and business issues at Texas Public Radio and politics and breaking news at The Dallas Morning News. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, was an engagement fellow at The Texas Tribune and worked for The Daily Texan, UT’s student newspaper. She was born in Mexico, grew up in Austin and speaks Spanish. She is based in Austin. Read Articles by María Méndez
Sergio Mendoza Reyes

Emerging Leaders Fellow
Sergio Mendoza Reyes is an Austin-based reporting fellow at the Tribune, sponsored by the U.S. State Department through the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). He is an investigative journalist in La Paz, Bolivia, specializing in economy and environment coverage. He has worked as a reporter and editor in national newspapers for more than 10 years and has earned the National Chronicle Award and the Recognition of Press Freedom. Sergio is co-founder and journalist at the digital media outlet La Nube, a freelancer for Bloomberg and is fluent in Spanish.
Ayan Mittra

Senior Managing Editor
Ayan Mittra is the senior managing editor at The Texas Tribune. Ayan joined the Tribune after working more than 10 years at The Dallas Morning News and has built expertise in Texas politics. He spent his first seven years there as a copy editor. In 2008, he moved to the political desk, supervising the daily presentations and working with reporters in the field. He then worked as a night city editor, supervising the coverage of late-breaking news. He was also on the editing team for the 2009 and 2011 legislative sessions. A native of Beaumont, Ayan graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is based in the Austin area. Read Articles by Ayan Mittra
Sophia Navarro

Engagement Fellow
- Email sophia.navarro@texastribune.org
- @sophianavarro02
Sophia Navarro is an audience and engagement fellow. She is majoring in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and will graduate in May. Sophia has worked as associate social media editor at The Daily Texan, UT-Austin’s daily paper, and as a marketing and social media intern for the Texas Exes, a campus alumni association. She was born and raised in El Paso. You can always catch her listening to Harry Styles with an iced coffee in hand.
Carlos Nogueras Ramos

Permian Basin Reporter
Carlos Nogueras Ramos is a regional reporter based in Odessa. Carlos joined The Texas Tribune in 2023 in partnership with Report for America. Carlos tells the stories of Texas from the vast energy-rich Permian Basin region. Before the Tribune, Carlos spent time in Philadelphia writing about local politics, including the city’s 100th mayoral election. A Spanish speaker, Carlos was one of the few Latino reporters on the campaign trail, covering the most expensive primary election to date in Philly. He is a proud Puerto Rico native, born and raised in Cayey. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and the University of Puerto Rico. Read Articles by Carlos Nogueras Ramos
Grayson Norwood

Director of Human Resources
- Email gnorwood@texastribune.org
Grayson Norwood oversees human resources at The Texas Tribune. She joined the organization in January 2020, after more than 13 years at The Contemporary Austin. A native Austinite, Grayson graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in history.
Reese Oxner

Product Manager
Reese Oxner is the product manager for The Texas Tribune and is based in Austin. He previously was the Tribune’s breaking news reporter. Before arriving at the Tribune, Reese interned on NPR’s news desk, was a summer reporting fellow at the Tribune and worked part-time covering Arlington for the Dallas Morning News. He was the editor in chief of The Shorthorn, the University of Texas at Arlington’s student-run newspaper, where he earned the 2019 editor of the year award from the Texas Collegiate Press Association. He studied web design in college and really, really likes Korean BBQ. (Photo: Tom Fox, The Dallas Morning News) Read Articles by Reese Oxner
Alfredo Palacios

Graphic Designer
- Email alfredo.palacios@texastribune.com
Alfredo Palacios is a graphic designer at The Texas Tribune. He works closely with the events and festival teams to produce their visual assets. Prior to joining our design team, he was the content marketing and design intern at AQUILA Commercial. Alfredo graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos with a degree in communication design. Outside of work, Alfredo enjoys photography and painting.
Maia Pandey

Reporting Fellow
Maia Pandey is a reporting fellow based in Austin. Born and raised in Boston, she is a Northwestern University senior studying journalism and creative writing. She has worked for the breaking health news team at NBC News and at Block Club Chicago. Her reporting on health and homelessness has appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal, City & State New York and United Press International. She is fluent in Nepali and Hindi. Read Articles by Maia Pandey
Jonathan Peacher

Full-stack Engineer
- Email djpeacher@texastribune.org
- @_djpeacher
Jonathan Peacher is a full-stack engineer at The Texas Tribune. He received a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the Tribune, he was an engineer for his alma mater, where he developed web applications to help broaden participation in computing among K-12 teachers and students. He enjoys going on long hikes with his fiancée and playing board games, at least when none of their four cats are running across the table.
Keaton Peters

Reporting Fellow
Keaton Peters is a reporting fellow who grew up in the rural community of Woodfords, California, near the Nevada border. Keaton is studying for a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has reported on the environment, politics and education for the online student publication Reporting Texas. He also has written for the Austin American-Statesman and Inside Climate News. Keaton is a dedicated cat dad and guitarist in a local band. Read Articles by Keaton Peters
Alex Powers

Analytics & Data Manager
- Email alex.powers@texastribune.org
Alex Powers is The Texas Tribune's analytics & data manager, focused on developing an internal data strategy and architecture that can help the Tribune leverage insights from data to best serve and inform Texas. He has worked as an EMT, a GED teacher, and an analytic consultant for clinics and hospitals. Through his health and education work – and as a longtime reader of the Tribune – he has seen firsthand how state policy impacts everyday lives, and he is very excited to use his skills to further our mission.
Jessica Priest

Engagement Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune Investigative Unit
Jessica Priest is an engagement reporter on The Texas Tribune/ProPublica Investigative Initiative. She’s previously worked for the Fort Worth Report, USA TODAY out of the Austin-American Statesman newsroom, the Victoria Advocate and the Temple Daily Telegram. She is a Texan whose work has often made an impact — be it local officials in Victoria pursuing funding for mental health after she highlighted a gap in services or the state’s highest criminal court granting a death row inmate a new trial after she detailed a prosecutor’s conflicts of interest. Jessica also has experience reporting on local government and the environment. After she exposed questionable hirings and payments at a port and later a water district in another part of the state, both public entities underwent reforms. After she showed the effects of companies’ air and water pollution on the Gulf Coast, residents organized and regulators took action. Read Articles by Jessica Priest
Terry Quinn

Chief Development Officer
- Email tquinn@texastribune.org
- 512-716-8613
Terry Quinn is a sixth-generation Texan and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She has worked as a volunteer and professional for over 23 years to raise funds for many nonprofit organizations in Austin and around Texas, most recently The Nature Conservancy of Texas and The Contemporary Austin. For the Tribune, Terry leads the work with the foundations and the individuals whose philanthropic support make the mission of the Tribune possible.
Kerri Qunell

Director of Marketing and Communications
- Email kerri.qunell@texastribune.org
Kerri Qunell joined the Tribune in spring of 2023 as the director of marketing and communications, leading the mar-com team to amplify the Tribune's brand, products, journalism and events. As a marketing communications leader with extensive experience in brand building, organizational leadership, strategy and civic engagement, she’s served on and led teams in broadcast media, non-profit and education companies. A lifelong Central Texan, Kerri earned a journalism degree at Texas State University and master’s in organizational leadership and ethics at St. Edward’s University.
Meredith Roberts

Fellow
- Email meredith.roberts@texastribune.org
Meredith Roberts is a multimedia fellow based in Austin, where she is studying radio-television-film journalism. Meredith has contributed to The Daily Texan’s video and illustration teams since September 2022 and is the stop-motion lead for Texas Student Television’s animation department. She has created short films for nearly 10 years. Although animation is her focus, she is very excited to expand her skills in multimedia journalism.
Ayden Runnels

Fellow
- Email ayden.runnels@texastribune.org
- @a_y_denrunnels
Ayden Runnels is a reporting fellow based in Denton, Texas. Ayden was born in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake and speaks English and Arabic. They serve as editor-in-chief of the North Texas Daily, the University of North Texas' student-run newspaper, and have worked on freelance projects for Newsweek and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Pooja Salhotra

East Texas Reporter
Pooja Salhotra joined the Tribune in 2022 as its first-ever East Texas reporter. Based in Lufkin, she covers a vast region that borders three states and stretches north to Texarkana and south to Beaumont. Pooja was born and raised in the Houston area and graduated from Yale University. She also holds a master’s in fine arts from NYU’s journalism school. Read Articles by Pooja Salhotra
Pooja Sandhu

Fellow
- Email pooja.sandhu@texastribune.org
Pooja Sandhu is a digital marketing fellow hired in 2023. As a data driven marketing creative, she has a passion for elevating the organization's growth, making an impact and helping others. She loves learning about brand building, AI, networking and personal improvement on LinkedIn, where she frequently posts. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she is also a cat and boba lover. In addition to English, Pooja speaks Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and a tiny bit of Spanish.
Yuriko Schumacher

Designer/Developer
Yuriko Schumacher joined the Tribune as a news app and data visuals designer/developer in 2022 after earning a master’s degree in journalism at Northeastern University. Previously, Yuriko interned with the Wall Street Journal’s graphics team and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s data team where she produced graphics and interactive experiences. She grew up in Osaka, Japan, and used to work as a crime reporter at the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. She is based in Austin and speaks fluent Japanese. Read Articles by Yuriko Schumacher
Jeremy Schwartz

Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit
Jeremy Schwartz has been an investigative reporter in Texas for nearly a decade, covering issues including voting rights and border security for the Austin American-Statesman and USA Today Network. His work has resulted in the overhaul of Texas' inspection process for farmworker housing, sparked Congressional investigations of a failed Department of Veterans Affairs research program and uncovered misleading border arrest and drug seizure statistics maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Schwartz won the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Latino Issues award for his 2017 investigation into the political underrepresentation of Latinos in Texas cities and counties, and the Headliners Foundation of Texas Reporter of the Year award, among other honors. He previously served as Cox Newspapers' Latin America correspondent in Mexico City from 2005 to 2009, and before that, he covered the U.S. Border Patrol and immigration at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He is based in Austin. Read Articles by Jeremy Schwartz
Alejandro Serrano

General Assignment Reporter
Alejandro Serrano is a general assignment reporter for The Texas Tribune. Before joining the Tribune in the fall of 2022, he reported on a variety of topics for the Houston Chronicle, including education and the Houston Independent School District. The Long Island, New York native received his bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern University. He is based in Houston and speaks fluent Spanish. Read Articles by Alejandro Serrano
Sonal Shah

Chief Executive Officer
- Email sonal.shah@texastribune.org
- @SonalRShah
Sonal Shah is the chief executive officer at The Texas Tribune. She has started and led social impact efforts in academia, government, and the private and philanthropic sectors for over 25 years. Previously, she served as interim executive vice president at United Way Worldwide. Sonal founded The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) in Houston and founded and led Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation. Her background in government and policy include leading the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the Obama administration, serving as an international economist at the Department of the Treasury, and as policy director for Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign. In the private sector, Sonal led Goldman Sachs' environmental strategy and Google's global technology and impact investment initiatives. Sonal grew up in Houston, earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in economics from Duke University.
Julius Shieh

Photography Fellow
- Email julius.shieh@texastribune.org
- @jsshieh21
Julius Shieh is a photography fellow. A senior at the University of Texas at Austin, he is studying history and English. Julius has worked as the photo editor at The Daily Texan, as a digital intern at KTBC-TV and as a photographer for Texas Connect, a UT employee publication. Julius is from Parsippany, New Jersey, and can speak French and Chinese. When he isn’t behind the camera or editing photos, he enjoys cycling, cooking and making coffee.
Stephen Simpson

Mental Health Reporter
Stephen Simpson is the mental health reporter, based in Austin, where he covers behavioral health in schools, treatment in the judicial system, substance abuse and the state mental health system, among other topics. He previously worked in his home state of Arkansas as a politics reporter, where he covered the state's Supreme Court, House of Representatives and correctional system for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Stephen's earliest career experiences include reporting and copy editing at The Jonesboro Sun and The Pine Bluff Commercial. He earned a degree in online and print journalism with a minor in filmmaking from the University of Central Arkansas. Read Articles by Stephen Simpson
Evan Smith

Co-Founder and Senior Adviser
- Email esmith@texastribune.org
- @evanasmith
Evan Smith is a co-founder and senior adviser at The Texas Tribune, where he served as CEO from 2009 to 2022. He’s also a senior adviser at Emerson Collective, where he works closely with the leadership teams of nonprofit news organizations around the country. Previously he spent nearly 18 years at Texas Monthly, stepping down in August 2009 as the magazine’s president and editor in chief. Evan is also the host of “Overheard with Evan Smith,” a weekly half-hour interview program that airs on PBS stations around the country. A native of New York, he is a graduate of Hamilton College and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Jacarious Stanley

Fellow
- Email jacarious.stanley@texastribune.org
Jacarious Stanley is a 2023 events fellow. He is a graduate of Texas State University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and is currently studying for a teaching certificate at Huston-Tillotson University. In his free time, he can be seen playing at venues around town as he loves to emerge himself in the vast music culture that Austin has to offer.
Victoria Stavish

Data Visuals Fellow
- Email victoria.stavish@texastribune.org
- @victoriastavish
Victoria Stavish is a data visuals fellow. A senior at the University of Maryland, she is studying journalism and information science. She is the data editor at The Diamondback, the university’s independent student publication, and has been a data intern at The Baltimore Sun and the university’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. Victoria is from Columbus, Ohio, and loves volleyball, reading and trivia.
Patrick Svitek

Political Reporter
Patrick Svitek is the primary political correspondent for The Texas Tribune. Patrick covers elections, state leaders, the Legislature and political trends across the state. He previously worked for the Houston Chronicle's Austin bureau. He graduated in 2014 from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana and is based in San Antonio. Read Articles by Patrick Svitek
Chris Svoboda

Audio/Visual engineer
- Email chris.svoboda@texastribune.org
Chris Svoboda is the audio/visual engineer at The Texas Tribune. After receiving a BFA in Animation & Illustration from SUNY Fredonia in 2009, Chris worked as freelance visual artist/film maker in the Buffalo, NY area till 2015. There he worked on projects ranging from commercial graphic design, web design, and poster art, to short films, music videos, and interactive video installations. In early 2015 he was offered work out west in New Mexico in the independent film industry. After relocating he worked on short films and feature length films with a focus on camera department and post production. In mid-2016 Chris relocated to Austin, where he worked his way up the ranks in the live audio-visual industry. For six years he worked as a lead video technician and technical director for live corporate events. Chris also likes to record music and create visual art like drawing, painting, and video art. When he’s not doing any of these things, you might find him out on a hike around Austin with his Catahoula Leopard Dog, Enzo.
Suraj Thapa

DevOps Engineer
- Email suraj.thapa@texastribune.org
Suraj Thapa joined The Texas Tribune in November 2022 as the DevOps engineer. He was born and raised in Nepal and is currently based in Idaho. He completed an undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Idaho and a master's in global economic affairs from the University of Denver. Suraj has worked as a data engineer and a developer in the past, and he's passionate about computational social science and using technology in the civic and nonprofit sectors. He's an avid soccer fan and likes to spend his free time working on personal projects and being active. Suraj is fluent in Nepali and Hindi as well as English.
Zahira Torres

Senior Editor, ProPublica/Texas Tribune Investigative Unit
Zahira Torres is the editor for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative unit, a first-of-its-kind collaboration to publish investigative reporting for and about Texas. Prior to joining the unit, Torres was a senior editor with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network where she worked with reporters in local and regional newsrooms on investigative projects. A native of El Paso, Texas, Torres was the first Latina and second woman to serve as the newspaper’s editor in its more than 100-year history. While at the El Paso Times, Torres also served as enterprise editor for the USA Today Network’s Texas/New Mexico newspapers. She was part of a team that developed and edited “The Wall: Untold Stories, Unintended Consequences,” which won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. Torres began her career at the Times as a news clerk while attending the University of Texas at El Paso. She later became the Austin bureau chief for the newspaper. During that time, she worked to uncover a cheating scheme at the El Paso Independent School District — the city’s largest — that denied many El Paso children the right to a proper education. She later became an education reporter for the Denver Post and Los Angeles Times before returning to her Texas roots. She is based in El Paso. Read Articles by Zahira Torres
Perla Trevizo

Reporter, ProPublica/Texas Tribune investigative unit
Perla Trevizo is a Mexican-American reporter born in Ciudad Juárez and raised across the border in El Paso, Texas, where she began her journalism career. Trevizo spent more than 10 years covering immigration and border issues in Tennessee and Arizona before joining the Houston Chronicle as an environmental reporter. She has written from nearly a dozen countries, from African refugee camps to remote Guatemalan villages, with the goal of broadening readers’ understanding of the global issues that impact the local communities where she has worked. Her work has earned her national and state awards including the Dori J. Maynard Award for Diversity in Journalism, French-American Foundation Immigration Journalism Award, and a national Edward R. Murrow for a story done in collaboration with Arizona Public Media. She was also honored as the 2019 Arizona Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Newspaper Association. She is based in El Paso. Read Articles by Perla Trevizo
Jacob Villanueva

Chief Creative Officer
Jacob Villanueva manages a team of designers to develop and maintain The Texas Tribune’s visual and brand strategy across products, platforms and marketing channels. He integrates his expertise of more than 20 years in design, interactive, video, photography and digital media production. Read Articles by Jacob Villanueva
Kevin Vu

Reporting Fellow
Kevin Vu is an Austin-based reporting fellow. Born in Houston, Kevin attends the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies journalism and has worked as a news reporter and editor for The Daily Texan, the campus paper. Kevin’s work has appeared in the Austin American-Statesman and on NPR's Next Generation Radio. He previously interned at NewsGuard, which combats misinformation. On his off days, you can catch Kevin cooking and catching up on shows. Read Articles by Kevin Vu
Allyson Waller

Newsletter Writer
Allyson Waller is a newsletter writer at The Texas Tribune. Previously, she was part of the 2020-2021 New York Times Fellowship class where she worked as a general assignment reporter for the publication’s breaking news desk. Allyson is a graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in journalism. While at UT Austin, she interned at the Miami Herald as a local government reporter and The Texas Tribune as an investigative fellow. When not closely following politics and state policy, Allyson enjoys listening to podcasts, watching documentaries and stocking up on fiction books. She is based in Austin. Read Articles by Allyson Waller
Matthew Watkins

Managing Editor of News and Politics
Matthew Watkins is managing editor of news and politics, overseeing the day-to-day planning for news coverage. He began working at the Tribune in 2015 and previously served as a reporter, breaking news editor and politics editor. He also worked as a reporter at The Dallas Morning News and The Eagle in Bryan-College Station. He graduated from Texas A&M University and lives in Austin, where he grew up. Read Articles by Matthew Watkins
Caroline Wilburn

Reporting Fellow
Caroline Wilburn is a reporting fellow based in College Station. Previously, Caroline interned with The Bryan-College Station Eagle, where she reported on crime, education and health. She was born and grew up near Dallas before attending Texas A&M University, where she studies journalism. She previously served as the news editor at Texas A&M’s independent student-run newspaper, The Battalion. Read Articles by Caroline Wilburn
Grace Yarrow

Reporting Fellow
Grace Yarrow is a reporting fellow based in Washington, D.C. She recently was a business reporting intern at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She previously interned at The Hill and the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, California. Born in Washington, D.C., she moved around the country before returning to the East Coast to attend the University of Maryland. She will graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a concentration in sociology. Read Articles by Grace Yarrow

Matt Adams

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Rebekah Allen

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Carla Astudillo

Rob Avila

Tara Ballew

James Barragán

Morgan Bennett

Karishma Bhuiyan

Neelam Bohra

Ellen Burris

Darla Cameron

Sewell Chan

Meadow Chase

Natalie Choate

Matthew Choi

Lexi Churchill

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Natalia Contreras

Clair Croslin

Vianna Davila

Zach Despart

Sneha Dey

Greta Díaz González Vázquez

Erin Douglas

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Emily Dresslar

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Irma Fernandez

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Emily Foxhall

Brandyn Friedly

Nic Garcia

Laura Garcia

Uriel J. García

Eddie Gaspar

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Dave Harmon

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Ashley Hebler

Sean Hennigan

Jinitzail Hernández

Reagan Hicks

April Hinkle

Pu Ying Huang

John Jordan

Ali Juell

Dan Keemahill

Kassie Kelly

Eleanor Klibanoff

Lomi Kriel

Evan Lambert

Terri Langford

Chuck Lindell

Brian Lopez

Jayme Lozano Carver

Natalie Martinez

Alejandra Martinez

Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera

Matthew McCrary

Kate McGee

William Melhado

María Méndez

Sergio Mendoza Reyes

Ayan Mittra

Sophia Navarro

Carlos Nogueras Ramos

Grayson Norwood

Reese Oxner

Alfredo Palacios

Maia Pandey

Jonathan Peacher

Keaton Peters