

Headshot by Las Fotos Project
I'm a multilingual journalist based in San Francisco with 11 years of experience in audio production, editing, print and on-air feature writing, and investigative reporting.​​
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A lot of my work involves using my communication and leadership skills to get lots of different people collaborating towards the same goal. Last year, I worked with nearly 100 newsrooms at the Institute for Nonprofit News on producing editorial series. I like to tackle the thorny issues in my field, like how journalism can better reach audiences, so I'm proud that the latest collaboration I launched was republished in over 700 outlets and reached policy-makers and advocates.
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In 2024, I dove into the disinformation ecosystem in an award-winning investigation about how disinformation targets Latinos on Spanish-language radio (Feet in 2 Worlds, WNYC, NAHJ's palabra, Puente News Collaborative).​​ I have spent over a decade building expertise on the Latino electorate; my latest article explored the conservative Latino movement. I find exploring this topic and immigration policy extremely challenging and rewarding as I can pull from my political science background.
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I write about the experience of immigrating to the U.S. for outlets like The Guardian. My 2023 reporting about the detention of asylum seekers in the San Diego desert was cited in a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security filed by humanitarian groups.
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As a seasoned audio producer and editor, I've launched and run dozens of shows, from narrative documentary series to interview podcasts. In 2025, I was named one of Current's Rising Stars in Public Media for my contributions to nonprofit media and radio, which is how I got started.
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I enjoy speaking at conferences, mentoring reporters with immigrant backgrounds, and I love reading novels--especially ones by Latina authors, a group I hope to belong to one day.
Paulina Velasco
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• Member of Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
• Winner of 2025 NAHJ Ñ Award
• 2024 Reporting Fellow with Feet in 2 Worlds
• Finalist for LA Press Club's 2024 Charles Rappleye Investigative Journalism Award
• Shortlist, 2024 New York Festivals Radio Awards
• 2020 fellow with University of Southern California's Center for Health Journalism
• Winner of 2018 Gerald Loeb Award for business journalism
• Finalist for CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California's 2017 Ruben Salazar Journalism Award
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