Yesica Prado - Journalist Profile | Connect with top journalists
View 's journalist industries, journalist types, location, and media outlets. Use Journalist Hunt to get connected with top journalists in seconds.
Get connected with journalists today
Yesica Prado
Verified
Reporter, San Francisco Public Press
Berkeley
Beats
Biography
People who are disenfranchised often have nowhere to turn and voice their concerns. My work focuses on issues that affect people’s access to land and belonging, such as homelessness, immigration, and Indigenous status. I am an independent investigative journalist, working with photo, video, audio, data, public records and long-form writing. I am currently focused on reporting on homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area, working to hold policymakers accountable for the real-world impact of their decisions and actions. I sometimes spend up to a year reporting for a series of stories, until I collect enough information to tell the whole story fully and fairly. My reporting can involve interviewing a lot of people, reviewing hundreds of documents, or analyzing extensive datasets. In the field, I’ve worked as a photographer, videographer, reporter, fixer and translator. I have received journalism awards, but what I strive for is finding justice for the communities I report on. As someone living in a vehicle since 2017, I report on homelessness with empathy. I point to policy changes that may affect unhoused people, shed light on harmful city practices, present positive outcomes when homeless services work, and highlight the challenges people face to survive and the solutions they devise to alleviate their life circumstances. In 2022, I was named an Ida B. Wells Fellow for Type Investigations to continue reporting on homelessness with accountability. As a neurodivergent person, I report on the mental health system with consideration of mental diversity and an understanding that people seek care from a health system that is not equipped to serve them. I am a first-generation Mexican immigrant. I visually document immigrant communities, which is what first brought me to photojournalism. I aim to expand my coverage into in-depth reporting about how immigrants navigate societal systems different from those in their home countries, calling attention to how this affects them and exploring systemic solutions. I am a mix of many people and still discovering my roots. History influences who we are today. I report on Indigenous communities with respect for their historical accounts and culture, patiently working to understand the uniqueness of each tribe. California has the largest Native American population in the country and is also home to the majority of non-federally recognized tribes. My work includes investigating the federal acknowledgment process, which recognizes who is a tribe in the United States –– a government process that lacks oversight. I grew up in Nezahualcoyótl, Mexico –– a self-made city. It is affectionately known as “Neza York” due to the connections many families have with the United States, including my own. At 9 years old, I left México with my family and grew up undocumented in Chicago. With limited job opportunities, I ventured into photography to learn a skill –– a trade. I hoped to earn a living as an independent contractor and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, earning a BFA in Photography. Before I turned 21, I was granted a humanitarian visa. I took advantage of this opportunity and expanded my borders by seeking a master’s degree in journalism from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. I speak Spanish and English fluently, and I have also studied Nahuatl, Japanese and French. I enjoy painting, taking Polaroid pictures, hiking, spending time with family, and collecting pins. My inspiration for becoming a journalist came from my mom, who always asked questions of strangers despite her limited English and education, finding solutions to our problems. Her tenacity to seek resources and share them to uplift others is contagious. As a journalist, I hope to carry on her values and pay forward the gift of information. During graduate school, I lost my housing, obtained an RV, and joined a community of people living in their vehicles in Berkeley. We created a network of support for one another, and I learned empathy, resilience, courage, love and kindness are present on the streets even in the face of precarious living. I captured these elements in my visual project, Driving Home: Surviving the Housing Crisis, which I completed as a CatchLight Local Fellow in 2020. This photography work has been shown at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco City Hall, Artists Against an #Infodemic Campaign, Pro Arts Gallery, the Asian Resource Center, libraries, and the streets. My short film, Quarantine Diary, a behind-the-scenes video documenting life in my RV was translated for Latin America in BBC News Mundo, and screened at the 2021 SF Urban Film Festival — “Wisdom Sits in Places,” the 2021 United Nations Association Film Festival — “Moving Forward,” classrooms and unhoused communities across the East Bay. I turn my lens to the quiet moments of everyday life, capturing our shared humanity. I invite viewers to look past “a situation,” and discover new ways of living –– coexisting together. I hope my work can help change prejudices about poor communities. Erase borders. Unite people. I also dig deeper into the issues behind my photographs, following the facts wherever they lead. I am committed to protecting those who share their stories with me, showing them the utmost respect in how I present their experiences and likeness to our audience. I take seriously the importance of trust, accuracy, and uplifting voices that may be hidden from many readers. Those living through their struggles are the true experts. I draw principles from movement journalism, which is reporting in the service of liberation of the people — journalism aimed at reducing the harm inflicted upon oppressed communities. I’m always open to grabbing a cup of tea or lunch to listen to your thoughts on issues affecting our communities. You can contact me by email at prado-reports@proton.me. Or reach out to me on Twitter at @Prado_Reports.
Content
Company Info
San Francisco Public Press
Inspired by public radio, the San Francisco Public Press is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to producing important, local, ad-free public-interest reporting online and in a quarterly print newspaper. The mission of the Public Press is to enrich the civic life of San Francisco by delivering public-interest journalism to broad and diverse audiences through print and interactive media not supported by advertising.
San Francisco, California, United States
+1 415-495-7377
Founded: 2009