Vanessa Romo
Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.
Before her stint on the News Desk, Romo spent the early months of the Trump Administration on the Washington Desk covering stories about culture and politics – the voting habits of the post-millennial generation, the rise of Maxine Waters as a septuagenarian pop culture icon and DACA quinceañeras as Trump protests.
In 2016, she was at the core of the team that launched and produced The New York Times' first political podcast, The Run-Up with Michael Barbaro. Prior to that, Romo was a Spencer Education Fellow at Columbia University's School of Journalism where she began working on a radio documentary about a pilot program in Los Angeles teaching black and Latino students to code switch.
Romo has also traveled extensively through the Member station world in California and Washington. As the education reporter at Southern California Public Radio, she covered the region's K-12 school districts and higher education institutions and won the Education Writers Association first place award as well as a Regional Edward R. Murrow for Hard News Reporting.
Before that, she covered business and labor for Member station KNKX, keeping an eye on global companies including Amazon, Boeing, Starbucks and Microsoft.
A Los Angeles native, she is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, where she received a degree in history. She also earned a master's degree in Journalism from NYU. She loves all things camaron-based.
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Debate is hot about the impact of a higher minimum wage. Half a million Californians work in fast-food, where wages had stagnated for decades. Restaurant owners warn of higher prices and fewer hours. -
California is in the grips of an atmospheric river that's causing flooding all over the state. Climate change might be intensifying storms like it — but scientists are still working out the details. -
Dr. Hammam Alloh, a 36-year-old nephrologist who practiced at Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in November.
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President Biden has said he wants "unprecedented" aid for Israel and enough funding for Ukraine to continue its fight against Russia. But he faces hurdles in the Republican-controlled House. -
Luz Vargas' son was home alone on the day of the Maui fire while she, her husband, and their middle son were at work. They raced home to save him but he died in the fire.
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According to Maui County, over 3,000 students have been displaced from their schools by the devastating wildfires in West Maui. With the school year just starting, parents are unsure what to do.
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The four-legged creatures with digestive tracts of steel make easy work of consuming vegetation that typically fuels wildfires. -
Violence erupted in France following the fatal police shooting of a teen. President Macron has, in part, blamed video games for the clashes. Other world leaders have used this widely debunked theory.
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A huge sinkhole that seemed stable for 15 years suddenly began expanding about a week ago, growing by several acres and leaving nearby residents terrified that it will take them and their homes. -
Hardcore Starbucks fans eagerly await the day the coffee company gives out limited-edition holiday cups. The union organizing Starbucks workers hope those same customers will help support their cause.
