Francisco Vara-Orta Email & Phone Number

Helping steer a nearly 50-year-old organization in a direction to be more inclusive externally and internally with the mission of making journalism better reflect the communities it serves, primarily through interactive training. Will review extensive curricula through an equity lens, rewriting some courses and creating new ones to expand opportunities for historically underrepresented communities. Bolster IRE’s relationships with partner organizations dedicated to more inclusive work and offer coaching to journalists working to be more culturally competent in their reporting, hiring and retention approaches.

Columbia, Missouri Area

Train journalists in investigative reporting techniques, including data analysis, at in-depth boot camps, regional watchdog workshops, annual professional development conferences and custom training sessions.

Nyc & Texas

Hired to more closely cover several organizations working to influence schools nationwide and enable the organization to better use data to find and tell stories in all of Chalkbeat’s bureaus.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Covering philanthropy and resources in schools, parent involvement/community engagement, and conducting data-driven reporting and analysis. Coach reporters and staffers on how to best use data.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Worked on data and in-depth projects covering K-12 education as a spring fellow while completing master's degree.

Columbia, Missouri Area

Working part-time doing research and data analysis for IRE and news outlets and journalists around the world partnering with our non-profit organization.

Columbia, Missouri Area

Helping with investigative look into migrant housing and quality of life for workers in rural Missouri.

Covering K-12 and higher education, including fourth largest school district in state, 19 independent school districts, and topics such as budget cuts, teachers, bilingual education, literacy and special needs

Covering real estate, both commercial and residential, and initiated concentrated coverage of growing retail, restaurants and hospitality services in Austin marketJuggling longer enterprise stories with three weekly assignments and daily breaking news, writing nearly everyday for website

Cover trade, transportation and manufacturing including the largest port complex, largest auto market, and large manufacturing sector in U.S. during historic recessionHad a weekly column either on trade/transportation or manufacturing

Worked on various beats: Higher Education/Religion, Health, Immigration, General Assignment, Latino communities, Gay issues, News Features, Online Breaking News Juggled longer enterprise stories with assigned dailies and breaking news feedsParticipant in METPRO training program, then hired after competitive selectionPitched, wrote, and managed blog on pets/animals for Times titled L.A. Unleashed

Internship focused on education, features, crime, and weekend general assignmentsThree A-1 stories: bilingual education, military education, and a federal judge profile

San Antonio, Texas Area

Responsible for managing 65 staff members and semi-monthly productionStarted as editor-in-chief incoming freshman semester after newspaper closedLed team to win 127 national and state journalism awards during editorship

Laredo, Texas Area

Responsible for stories and their photos/infographics in general news and featuresManaged and wrote annual United Way book of 24 profile stories on area agencies

Responsible for stories/photos in news, investigative, features, and Latin entertainmentDeveloped column “Senior Thoughts” on advice to college-bound HS studentsWorked full-time in summers; not an internship

Master'S Degree, Journalism, Data And Investigative Journalism

Studied data journalism, investigative reporting, mass media research, First Amendment case law, narrative writing, diversity.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), English/Communication Arts; Latin American Studies