Berkeley Journalism announces faculty hire Jennifer LaFleur

Jennifer LaFleur

Berkeley Journalism is proud to announce that Jennifer LaFleur, one of the world’s leading data journalists, data editors and teachers of data journalists, has joined the school’s prestigious faculty.

“Hiring her puts Berkeley Journalism on the map as the best data journalism school in the country. There is nobody I know of who brings to the table Jennifer’s combination of great journalism, superb data skills and passionate teaching and mentoring of students,” said Geeta Anand, dean of Berkeley Journalism.

LaFleur was formerly a senior editor at the Center for Public Integrity, an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization. She joined CPI from the Investigative Reporting Workshop, where she was data editor. LaFleur previously served as a senior editor for “Reveal” from The Center for Investigative Reporting, where she managed an award-winning team of data journalists, investigative reporters and fellows.

“Joining the Berkeley Journalism faculty is a once-in-lifetime opportunity to work with a talented and passionate group of students, educators and journalists,” LaFleur said. “I’m so impressed with the school’s dedication to diversity and to preparing the next generation by giving them real-world opportunities to produce journalism. I look forward to helping expand and integrate the role of data journalism in the program.”

At Berkeley Journalism, LaFleur is charged with broadening and deepening training in data journalism. This will include helping students in every medium strengthen their stories by relying on quantitative evidentiary analysis and deep data-driven research. She will teach data journalism courses, support stories at the school’s Investigative Reporting Program and play a leadership role in designing and launching a new fully online master’s degree in visual and data journalism.

LaFleur’s journalism career includes serving as the director of data journalism at ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom, and similar roles at The Dallas Morning News and other newspapers. She is a former training director for Investigative Reporters & Editors, a nonprofit trade organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting, and previously served on IRE’s board of directors. She is a board member of the Fund for Investigative Journalism, an independent grant-making organization, and is a member of the advisory board for the National Center for Disability and Journalism, a nonprofit, educational organization that provides support and training to improve representation of disability in the media.

Professor David Barstow led the search committee that recommended hiring LaFleur. Other search committee members included Professor Elena Conis, Professor Bill Drummond, Professor Ken Light, student member Pamela Estrada (’23) and alum Brian Nguyen (’21). They spent dozens of hours recruiting, reviewing material and interviewing candidates for this search. The equity adviser was Professor Andrés Cediel.