Report for America selected the San Francisco Public Press to host a reporter for two years as part of its national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities.
Just over 50 newsrooms were selected this year to host new reporting corps positions and join an expanding network of newsrooms benefiting from the program’s support.
We are delighted to welcome Audrey Mei Yi Brown as a Report for America corps member who will to cover environmental health equity and corporate accountability beginning in July.
Audrey, who uses they/them pronouns, is perfectly suited for this role. They have spent years studying and working within the realm of climate and environmental justice, and then reporting on it as a journalist. Audrey is a graduate of UCLA and Columbia Journalism School.
Previously, they worked at the San Francisco Chronicle on SFNext, a civic engagement initiative, where they covered a range of city issues spanning homelessness, digital inequity and downtown recovery. That work was highlighted by three front page stories, including two investigations.
“Those lengthy investigations were a risk that didn’t guarantee a payoff,” Audrey said. “But these are the stories I believe matter most — the ones that are hardest to nail down and easiest to pass up, but that reveal injustice. In some newsrooms, such stories might get lost in the churn of daily news, but as a corps member placed at San Francisco Public Press, I know I will be encouraged to report them.”
Most recently, Audrey has been a contributing editor at KneeDeep Times, a digital magazine featuring stories from the front lines of climate resilience.
Audrey grew up in San Francisco and is passionate about covering this beat for local readers and listeners, with data-driven reporting and investigations that will expose wrongdoing and explore innovative solutions.
Here’s Where You Come In
Report for America is offering us a $25,000 challenge grant towards Audrey’s salary. To raise the matching funds, we turn to you.
We know you care about local news, maintaining a diverse cohort of Bay Area journalists and efforts to ensure that historically undercovered communities and issues get the attention they deserve.
So, we invite you to join our special effort to raise funds to support Audrey’s reporting.
When you make a generous donation today you’ll be supporting Audrey’s ability to investigate essential stories for our community.
Thank you for welcoming Audrey Mei Yi Brown to the Public Press!
