Top Journalists in Child Care Centers

Elizabeth Aguilera CalMatters

Award-winning CalMatters reporter covering health and social services, including the state’s child care system and family costs/waivers for subsidized care. Specialties: California early childhood policy, subsidized child care, TK/Pre-K expansion, social services

Moriah Balingit Associated Press

Associated Press national reporter focused on child care, preschool and the early grades, with practical guides for families and policy accountability coverage. Specialties: National child care policy, preschool/early grades, Head Start, licensing and access

Liz Bell EducationNC (EdNC)

EducationNC’s early childhood beat reporter and co-author of the Early Bird newsletter, reporting statewide on child care access, costs and policy. Specialties: Early childhood education beat (North Carolina), child care workforce/financing, family child care

Kelsey Butler Bloomberg News

Bloomberg Equality reporter who frequently covers the U.S. child care crisis, costs and employer-backed care options. Specialties: Care economy, child care affordability, employer benefits and backup care, gender equity

Chabeli Carrazana The 19th

The 19th’s economy and child care reporter—one of the few dedicated child care beats in U.S. media—covering how policy (or the lack of it) shapes families’ lives. Specialties: Economy and child care beat, care workforce, affordability, policy impacts on women/LGBTQ+ families

Rachel M. Cohen Vox

Vox policy correspondent covering U.S. social policy with regular reporting on child care systems, deregulation debates and family policy. Specialties: Child care policy and politics, education/after-school, CTC and family policy

Email | Signal

Karen D’Souza EdSource

Senior reporter at EdSource who covers early education alongside literacy and arts, with frequent reporting on California’s child care landscape. Specialties: California early education, literacy and TK/Pre-K, child care quality and access

Rebecca Gale New America — Better Life Lab (and contributor to zero2eight at The 74)

Writer with New America’s Better Life Lab focusing on child care; also organizes Child Care Innovation Reporting grants and contributes early learning coverage. Specialties: Care economy and child care innovation, policy solutions, grant-supported reporting projects

Ariel Gilreath The Hechinger Report

Hechinger Report staff writer based in the South with national education coverage experience that includes early childhood and child care. Specialties: Southern education with early childhood focus, child care access/quality, family supports

Phone

Elliot Haspel zero2eight at The 74; Capita

Columnist and senior fellow covering early care and education for zero2eight (The 74) and Capita; author of major investigations into investor-backed child care chains. Specialties: Child care finance and system design, private equity/industry structure, care policy commentary

Andrea Hsu NPR

NPR’s labor and workplace correspondent with ongoing, ground-level reporting on how employers and families navigate the child care market. Specialties: Labor/child care workforce, employer-sponsored child care, costs and access

Linda Jacobson The 74

Senior writer at The 74 with a long-standing focus on early childhood education and policy across states and Capitol Hill. Specialties: Early education, federal/state policy and courts, district leadership

Jackie Mader The Hechinger Report

Senior reporter who leads The Hechinger Report’s early childhood coverage and newsletter; recognized by EWA for beat reporting. Specialties: Early childhood systems, child care workforce/quality, international comparisons, ECE newsletter

Claire Cain Miller The New York Times (The Upshot)

New York Times Upshot reporter on gender, families and work whose coverage frequently examines U.S. child care policy in a global context. Specialties: Family policy and the economy, child care affordability and international comparisons

Christina A. Samuels The Hechinger Report

Deputy managing editor at Hechinger who oversees early childhood coverage and solicits early education pitches. Specialties: Editorial lead for early childhood coverage; accepts pitches on ECE topics

Ann Schimke Chalkbeat Colorado

Chalkbeat Colorado senior reporter dedicated to early childhood issues, from policy shifts to on-the-ground impacts for providers and families. Specialties: Early childhood and health (Colorado), UPK implementation, child care access

Zaidee Stavely EdSource

EdSource reporter and Education Beat podcast host whose beat includes stories at the intersection of immigration, early learning and child care in California. Specialties: Immigration and education with early learning/child care reporting, Spanish/English coverage

Mark Swartz zero2eight at The 74

Writer for zero2eight (formerly Early Learning Nation) covering innovations and policy in early care and the broader care economy. Specialties: Early care and education features, care economy analysis, solutions journalism

Email | Phone

Emily Tate Sullivan EdSurge

Senior reporter at EdSurge whose award-winning enterprise work often examines child care programs, workforce challenges and family impacts. Specialties: Early childhood and K–12, child care workforce and business model, trauma/mental health

Nadia Tamez-Robledo EdSurge

EdSurge reporter whose beat includes early childhood education alongside K–12, with data-rich coverage of policy and practice. Specialties: Early childhood and K–12 data stories, equity and policy; edtech’s role in ECE