CalMatters makes six news hires

The following excerpt was sent out from Editor & Publisher:

We’re adding seven talented people to the CalMatters team, reflecting our commitment to increased nonpartisan coverage of news in the coming election year and our ongoing focus on building a staff that closely reflects the wonderful diversity of the Golden State.

Yue Stella Yu joins CalMatters to cover politics as we approach the pivotal 2024 election.

Yu joins the CalMatters politics and campaign reporters. She previously covered state politics for Bridge Michigan, where she focused on gun and labor policies, money in politics and ballot proposals. Yu also covered politics in Tennessee, Mississippi and Missouri and holds a master’s degree in investigative journalism from the University of Missouri.

Jennifer Burger is editor of the CalMatters College Journalism Network, our program that pays and trains students to cover higher education trends and policies.

She previously spent 10 years mentoring young journalists as an instructor and adviser to student media at California State University, Bakersfield, where she received the Outstanding Lecturer award. Before serving in higher education, Burger worked as a reporter and editor for The Bakersfield Californian and ANG Newspapers (now Bay Area News Group) and has a Bachelor of Journalism degree from CSU Sacramento and a Master of Journalism degree from UC Berkeley.

Adriana Heldiz is our new assistant visuals editor, working as a photo editor, photographer, video journalist and graphics designer.

She previously worked at The San Diego Union-Tribune and Voice of San Diego.Heldiz is a first-generation Mexican-American who was born and raised in Chula Vista. She attended Southwestern College and San Diego State University and has experience in photojournalism, video editing, graphic design and social media management.

Hans Poschman manages transcription for Digital Democracy, a new CalMatters project to bring transparency and more aggressive journalism to our coverage of state government.

He’s based in San Luis Obispo and has previously worked for the state legislature and in state and local government. He has a Masters in Public Policy and a Bachelors in Political Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Carolyn Jones covers K-12 education for CalMatters, focusing on state education policies that affect students, teachers, families and communities.

She previously worked at EdSource, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Tribune. Jones recently served as a Fulbright Specialist in Albania focusing on media literacy. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she’s a longtime Oakland resident.

Justo Robles joins the California Divide team covering economic inequality.

He was born and raised in Lima, Peru. Since graduating from Rutgers University, he has worked as a newsroom producer at Spanish-language television networks including Telemundo and Univision, earning Emmy awards in New York and California. As a bilingual reporter, he has written from South America, Central America and Mexico. His work has been published in The Guardian, NBC News, CBS News, KQED, CNN, El Tímpano and Revista El Malpensante