Felicia Alvarez
Hi, my name is Felicia Alvarez, and I’m a journalist specializing in investigative reporting and narrative writing. Through my reporting, I strive to create work that both creates a sense of a community, and defends it through hard-hitting accountability journalism.
Prior to arriving in Berkeley, I was a staff writer with the Sacramento Business Journal covering the health care, law, and state government beats. Much of my work was forged in the coronavirus pandemic, where I led the Business Journal’s breaking news coverage of the pandemic’s spread. Beyond daily breaking news on state policy and public health, my reporting gained national recognition for my coverage of the disproportionate challenges faced by minority-owned businesses.
My first foray into journalism was at The Davis Enterprise — the daily newspaper in Davis, Calif. — where I sharpened my teeth as a city beat reporter. My coverage followed everything from seven-hour long City Council meetings, to profiles on eccentric residents and shortcomings in the city’s affordable housing budget. The city beat placed me on the front lines of many of California’s most pressing issues such as housing shortages, water policy, climate change and transportation.
As a graduate student, I’m doubling down on my pursuit of investigative journalism with a strong focus on topics in criminal justice, labor issues, disability rights and the LGBTQ community.
EDUCATION
UC Berkeley, 2023
Master in JournalismUC Davis, 2014
History, Anthropology B.A.
EMPLOYERS
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Sacramento Business Journal
Health, Law/Policy Reporter
July 2018 - July 2021 -
Freelance Journalist
November 2017 - July 2018 -
The Davis Enterprise
City Beat, Environment Reporter
February 2015 - October 2017
AWARDS & HONORS
2020: "Best in Business" award for small business reporting, Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW).
2019: Health Care Fellow, Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW).
2017: 2nd Place “In-Depth Reporting,” for affordable housing topics, California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA).
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
IRE | Investigative Reporters and Editors
NAHJ | National Association of Hispanic Journalists
NLGJA | National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
REPORTING INTERESTS
Data Journalism, Social Justice, accountability, environmental news, law and courts, multimedia, state government