Aaricka Washington
As the associate editor for How To LA, I not only write daily news stories in collaboration with the podcast, I lead strategy conversations with my team in order to create captivating, impactful stories for the podcast, digital site, radio and social media that capture the life, news, and culture of Los Angeles. In this role, I also report on original, L.A.-centric, in-depth stories monthly for the How To LA podcast. My stories largely focus on marginalized communities, youth and education. Lastly, I plan, coordinate and host community events with the aim of broadening and expanding audience reach within LAist and How To LA.
A community-driven local news reporter at heart, I've spent countless hours talking to parents, teachers, students, community members and school board trustees about the most crucial issues in education. I’ve covered breaking news, enterprise and investigative education stories for Chalkbeat Indiana and the Austin American-Statesman, focusing on the experiences of people from historically under-resourced communities that were similar to my childhood working class neighborhoods. I’ve also written for The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Time Magazine and several other news publications.
Before becoming a professional journalist, I was a Teach for America corps member in Houston, Texas teaching Black, Latino and Southeast Asian kids in low-income schools.
I earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington.
My dad’s parents met in South L.A. after moving from Arkansas and Louisiana during The Great Migration in the late 1940s. They settled in Watts and started a large family of Washingtons. My family is currently all over South L.A. They are indeed witnesses of the most infamous, transformative parts of modern Black L.A. history. I was born in L.A. on the exact day my grandparents were married 40 years earlier. While I’m from L.A, I grew up mostly in Indianapolis, Indiana with my mom and visited nearly every summer. After living in Indianapolis, Houston, Austin and New York, it was time to return to my roots. I’m so happy to be back.
I’m an avid roller skater, long-distance runner, (soon-to-be) swimmer, and one helluva dope Auntie.
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Even though private colleges consider legacy admissions, officials say donor or family ties don’t have precedence. -
Taylor Swift’s L.A. tour is expected to bring thousands of people and millions of dollars to the area. Here’s your guide on all things Taylormania. -
Here’s what you need to know if you want to plant trees in our increasingly dry and hot climate in Southern California. -
Scientists are testing out trees to see which ones can withstand the impacts of the climate change crisis. -
Resilience hubs in L.A. provide residents with a way to cool down that uses solar panels, battery storage and resources. -
It’s not just writers and actors who are impacted by the strikes. It’s local businesses around L.A., too. -
SAG-AFTRA is demanding a number of changes with their work at studios, one of them being regulations around self-tape auditions -
Starting next month in L.A. and Orange counties, the maximum allowable rent increase will decrease from 10% to 8.8%. -
The assault charge is just one of the latest incidents challenging L.A.’s juvenile justice system. -
Our power grid could be in trouble with the impact of the climate change crisis.
