Felicia Alvarez

Felicia Alvarez

Class of 2023

LinkedIn

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.

Most recently I was a breaking news intern at the Los Angeles Times. Over the course of the summer I published 36 different breaking and trending news stories across the Golden State, as well as a Column One feature story that ran on the front page of the paper.

Prior to arriving in Berkeley, I was a staff writer with the Sacramento Business Journal on the health care, law, and state government beats. During the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, I led the Business Journal’s breaking news coverage. 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.

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 Journalism

  • UC Davis, 2014
    History, Anthropology B.A.

EMPLOYERS

  • Los Angeles Times
    Breaking News Intern
    May 2022 - Aug 2022

  • Investigative Reporting Program
    Intern
    January 2022 - May 2022

  • 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).

PUBLICATIONS & OTHER WORK

  • Inside Southern California's mermaid subculture
    https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-06/mermaiding-is-making-waves-and-changing-lives

  • Anti-Asian hate crimes in California jumped 177% in 2021 (Breaking News)
    https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-28/anti-asian-hate-crimes-in-california-jumped-177-in-2021

  • LGBTQ seniors struggle to find affordable housing
    https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/09/20/lgbtq-seniors-can-struggle-to-find-affordable-housing-a-sacramento-development-is-trying-to-help/

  • Minority-owned businesses face disproportionate challenges during Covid-19
    https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2020/05/14/minority-owned-businesses-take-a-harder-hit-from.html?s=print

MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS

  • IRE | Investigative Reporters and Editors

  • NLGJA | National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association

  • NAHJ | National Association of Hispanic Journalists

REPORTING INTERESTS

Criminal Justice, Gender/Sexuality, LGBTQ Communities, Local government, Women's Rights, accountability, environmental news, labor, law and courts, state government