Kaylee Tornay Email & Phone Number

I produce groundbreaking, impact-centered investigative stories about youth and families, labor and health in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

Santa Rosa, California, United States

After a stint as a general assignment reporter, I took over the education reporter role in mid-2021. I broke news and produced award-winning investigative reporting on Sonoma County's dynamic school communities. The landscape included 40 public K-12 districts, several private schools, Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College. Some of my most notable coverage included investigative reporting into administrative inaction at a local private school that enabled several teachers to sexually abuse, harass and otherwise groom more than three dozen students for nearly two decades. That coverage garnered first prize awards for investigative and public service journalism in the California Journalism Awards. I also reported extensively on the controversial consolidation of two of the county's high schools, and documented the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on local learners.

Medford, Oregon Area

Won the Oregon Territory SPJ Rookie of the Year Award for my first year of reporting.I consistently break news about local schools before the competition, maximizing social media reach and implementing SEO strategiesI'm helping and learning from a high school student who hopes to pursue a journalism career by mentoring her in her senior project. I use my adequate Spanish language skills to cover the fastest-growing but underrepresented minority community in Jackson County.

Greater Philadelphia Area

I was both writer and photojournalist at this online-only local news site, which is Spirited Media, Co.'s first website, based in Philadelphia. I worked with the team for six weeks, covering art exhibits, potential financial mismanagement in the mayor's office and shooting photos for my and several colleagues' stories. Some highlights of my time and contributions here: I helped out with an investigative project, attended a workshop in a federal prison and shot photos of Senator Elizabeth Warren, President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during the heat of campaigning (really, it was over 100 degrees at times). I was minutes too late to get a photo of then-candidate Donald Trump eating a Philly cheesesteak.

Eugene, Oregon Area

Our staff won a Pacemaker, the Associated Collegiate Press's preeminent award, for its coverage during this period in which I was privileged to serve as a managing editor and hiring/training director.By this time, I had worked for the Emerald for a year and a half, so I used my knowledge of the newsroom to hire 30 new staff members and train the entire staff of over 50 individually and collectively throughout this school year. My job was to make sure that every new hire (and returning veteran) understood how to use our WordPress, which meetings they were required to attend, how disciplinary measures worked and who to ask which questions. It required a deep understanding of the newsroom's functions and values, and being able to discern who would shine with little help and who would need the guidance that I and the other editors were glad to provide.

I cover the student government, or Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO).

Eugene, Oregon Area

Medford, Oregon Area

As a general assignment intern, I filled in on almost every beat at one point, with the exception of sports coverage. I produced several front-page features and worked closely with the city editor in line editing sessions and ethics discussions.