Discover Top Reporters / Journalist in Santa Rosa, California, USA

I am an Emmy winning video journalist and editor. I love to see what's on the other side of the wall. To hear words that shatter all preconceptions. To find connection where all hope seems lost. I am gritty and I do whatever it takes to "get the shot." I am humbled to be allowed into people's journeys of pain and courage, their intimate spaces, and their attempts to survive or build a better existence. This profession gives me a chance to share these experiences with the world, in an effort for us all to understand one another just a little bit more. I specialize in telling stories of social justice issues, people marginalized or misunderstood and the unknown. I have a talent for finding unusual angles and perspectives often overlooked. I am also very adventurous and I love stories that are difficult to get, climbing 100 feet into a tree or trekking through the wilderness. I thrive off getting dirty and risk-taking. I've created news pieces, profile pieces, long-form, human-centered, inspirational stories as well as promotional films and marketing videos.

• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Video Editor - News
• Field Producer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Production Assistant
• Production Company
• Corporate Videographer
• Commercial DP

Austin Meyer is a documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Oakland, CA. He is a National Geographic Explorer and his work has been featured by HBO, Hulu, Apple TV, National Geographic, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, PBS NewsHour, and Al Jazeera among others. Meyer graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. degree in creative writing and an M.A. degree in journalism. After graduation, he was selected as the winner of the New York Times’ International Reporting Trip with Nicholas Kristof competition, for which he reported for the New York Times in Baltimore, India, and Nepal. Meyer has worked as a videographer at the Los Angeles Times and was awarded an IDEO storytelling fellowship, during which he reported for Slate on the social and environmental impacts of hydropower dams along the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. In 2018 Meyer was awarded a National Geographic Explorer grant to create a documentary film on maternal healthcare in Zambia. His documentaries have screened at the American Documentary, Mill Valley, & Milwaukee Film Festivals, as well as in the National Geographic Short Film Showcase and Atlantic Selects series. Meyer’s purpose as a documentarian is to tell stories that change the way people walk through the world by inspiring empathy, curiosity, and wonder. He is passionate about telling vulnerable and intimate stories that are emotionally moving, break down stereotypes, and compel people to take action in order to make our world a better place. www.austinmeyerfilms.com @austinmeyerfilms on social media

• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Production Company
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Video Editor - News
• Fixer
• On-Air Reporter / Host
• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Event Photographer
• Executive Producer
• Senior Editor
• Product Photographer
• Creative Director

Over nearly a decade of working in documentary production I've shot and produced documentary work for a range of media outlets including Al Jazeera, CNN, the Guardian, the Intercept, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC News, the New York Times, TIME among many others. I’ve also DP'd and directed commercial work for companies including Red Bull, AT&T, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Oculus, Fox Studios, and many more. Additionally I've directed, produced and DP'd independent films as well as commissioned documentary projects for non-profits and NGOs.

• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Production Company
• Drone Operator
• Field Producer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Senior Producer / Project Manager

Born and raised in California, Lakshmi is an educator and journalist with a focus on South Asia, gender, race and the arts. Over the past few years she has worked with newspapers, radio and magazines from Gaborone, Botswana to Los Angeles, California. She has written and produced for various audiences, including Mic, Global Voices, Al Jazeera Online, AJ+, Fusion, the New York Times and KQED. Lakshmi is a graduate of Pitzer College and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

• Fixer
• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Translator
• Field Producer
• TV News Producer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Video Editor - News
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Series Producer / Show Runner
• Immersive/Spatial Video Capture

Crystal Wong is an Emmy-nominated journalist, documentary producer and cinematographer. Born into the Handover period of Hong Kong, her identity is, likewise, fluid and in question. After graduating from the journalism school at CUHK, she relocated to New York City to gain experience in video production. She established herself as a freelance filmmaker by the time she returned to Hong Kong to document the city’s biggest protests in history. She developed a strong interest in long-form documentaries after being an assistant director for an independent documentary, Faceless, which had been screened at various festivals including the Busan International Film Festival 2021. She is currently directing a long-term project addressing the evolving identity of Hongkongers and the Hong Kong diaspora. Crystal currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She welcomes any type of visual and journalism projects. Her works have appeared on VICE, PBS FRONTLINE, Quartz, RTHK and UnionDocs.

• Documentary DP
• TV News Producer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Production Company
• Production Assistant
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Fixer
• Field Producer
• Corporate Videographer
• Gaffer
• Grip

I’m a film director/producer, musician, and video journalist based in Oakland, CA. For CALIFORNIA Magazine, I've written, shot, and edited around twenty short form documentary pieces, including a 3-part video series called “Bugged,” and am also a frequent contributor to the print magazine. An avid traveller, I have worked, trained, and performed all over the world, including Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and West Africa. I have a degree in Arabic and Russian Literature from UC Berkeley, and am the artistic director of Radix Troupe Productions, which I founded in 2013. Since finishing my studies in Arabic and Russian at UC Berkeley in 2013, I've been actively directing and producing original work, including multiple short films, music videos, short form documentaries, and promotional work. My most recent short film "Zoey and the Wind-Up Boy" produced by RADIX, won Best Fantasy Film at the 2017 Roswell Sci-fi Film Festival, was a finalist for Best International Short at the Ithaca Fantastik Film Festival, 2017, and won runner up for Best Film at the Carcosa Film Festival, 2018. Another film I produced, "All We Left Behind" won Best International Film at the 48Film Project Festival, 2018. In 2016, I was also one of the aspiring female directors to be selected to shadow BAFTA award-winning writer/director Amma Asante on the shoot of her soon to be released film, Where Hands Touch (2018). As a singer and cellist, I regularly perform with the award-winning band, MAD NOISE, and my newest musical/visual project called Girl Swallows Nightingale.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Production Assistant
• Music Composer
• Fixer
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Series Producer / Show Runner
• Non-Fiction Film Director

I’m a New York-raised Californian, filmmaker, photographer, partner and dad. My first foray into independent filmmaking was aboard a 4-seat Cessna, documenting impacts of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, I spent several years in New York working and learning as a Production Assistant and later a Cinematographer and Editor in collaboration with networks and brands including ABC, American Eagle and the MSG Network. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2015, I’ve focused on developing my voice through the stories I was drawn to in the beginning, about the natural systems around us and the spectrum of relationships humanity has with them. And I’ve continued to collaborate with other filmmakers, organizations, and brands including Bloomberg, Netflix and the Biden/Harris campaign. My latest effort, don’t feed the coyotes, began screening at film festivals across the country earlier this year. Through the observations of two starkly-different naturalists, the half-hour documentary chronicles several years in the intertwined lives of San Francisco’s urban coyotes.

• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Production Company
• Field Producer
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• TV News Producer
• Video Editor - News
• Reporter / Journalist
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Corporate Videographer

Sara Lafleur-Vetter is a multimedia journalist with a passion for telling stories of the underdog and the underbelly of society. As a videographer, photographer, writer, and radio journalist, she’s covered everything from social orphans in Russia to Native resistance camps at Standing Rock. She holds an interdisciplinary degree in Anthropology and Russian from Reed College. Lafleur began her journalism career in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she documented local NGOs including an organization for the homeless, a kid circus, and an institution for the disabled. Afterwards, she lived in Luxor, Egypt documenting ancient temple blocks for the American Research Center in Egypt. She received her Masters from the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in 2015, where she won a Dorothea Lange Fellowship for her photography. She spent over half a year covering the Native-led resistance camps at Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, which she is working to develop into a feature length film.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Production Company
• Field Producer
• Production Assistant
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Audio Storyteller
• Reporter / Journalist

I am a documentary photographer and videographer currently based in Northern California. I possess a solid background in photojournalism and specialize in the long-term narrative. My documentary work focuses on social justice, health, environmental conservation, and identity. I am passionate about utilizing the visual narrative as a tool to inform, engage, and impact social change. As a multimedia journalist and storyteller, I have experience working as a producer, visual creator, editor & curator, and project manager. I am proficient in image editing software, studio lighting, video and audio capture, and various array of photography including reportage, portraiture, editorial, travel, corporate, and commercial. I am conscientious, resourceful, and welcome any challenging assignments. Selected Clients & Publications: ActionAid, Asian Development Bank, Bloomberg Businessweek, BuzzFeed News, Clinton Health Access Initiatives, Courrier International, Der Spiegel, Facebook, Fair Trade, Financial Times, Getty Images, Global Citizen, Greenpeace International, The Guardian, Instagram, International Monetary Fund, The New York Times, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Open Society Foundations, Oxfam, ProPublica, Sactown Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, UN-REDD, USAID, USA Today, TripAdvisor, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Field Producer
• Portrait Photographer
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Creative Director
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Commercial DP
• Corporate Videographer
• Translator
• Event Photographer
• Landscape Photographer
• Product Photographer
• Fashion Photographer
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Post-Production Manager

Hello! I am a documentary film maker based in the Bay area. I shoot on Sony, Canon and Black Magic. My full portfolio can be found at www.ekfproductions.com.  Here is a link to my general video portfolio - https://youtu.be/T09E9hpCebk       Additionally I am a FAA drone certified pilot  My equipment includes pro audio and lighting and is listed on the bottom of this email.       Thanks! Kent Kessinger   ~~ Equipment List ~~ Cameras: 3x Sony A7siii BlackMagic 6k Canon 6D Sony A7iv DJI Mavic Air 2s Drone Lenses: Sony 50mm f1.4 Sony 20mm f1.8 G Sony 35mm f1.8 Sony 85mm 1.4 GM Sony 24-70 2.8 Sony 70-200 2.8 Sony 90mm macro Audio: Tascam x8 32 bit audio 4 cahnnel Zoom H6 - 6 track digital recorder Sennheiser MKE-600 shotgun mic 2x Sennheiser G3 wireless Lav Misc Video: 4x tripods & Dolly 4 point light setup (2 softbox) with three backdrops (key green, white & black) DJI RS2 Pro Gimbal with Raven eye for remote controlling DJI RSC2 Gimbal         

• Documentary DP
• Sound Mixer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - News
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Reporter / Journalist
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Drone Operator

Virgie Tovar is an author, activist and one of the nation's leading experts and lecturers on fat discrimination and body image. She is the founder of Babecamp, a 4-week online course designed to help women who are ready to break up with diet culture, and started the hashtag campaign #LoseHateNotWeight. She pens a weekly column called Take the Cake. Tovar edited the ground-breaking anthology Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love and Fashion (Seal Press, November 2012) and The Feminist Press will be publishing her forthcoming book of non-fiction (Summer 2018). She holds a Master's degree in Sexuality Studies with a focus on the intersections of body size, race and gender. After teaching "Female Sexuality" at the University of California at Berkeley, where she completed a Bachelor's degree in Political Science in 2005, she went onto host "The Virgie Show" (CBS Radio) in San Francisco. She is a former plus size style writer for BuzzFeed. Virgie has been featured by the New York Times, Tech Insider, MTV, Al Jazeera, NPR, Yahoo Health, the San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan Magazine Online, Bust Magazine, and French language magazine Madame Figaro. She lives in San Francisco and offers workshops and lectures nationwide. Find her online at www.virgietovar.com.

• Reporter / Journalist
• Audio Storyteller
• On-Air Reporter / Host

I'm a GA reporter/MMJ who reports on state politics and issues from the CA state capital. Before Sacramento I was reporting in Atlanta. I've covered everything from politics to riots, investigative pieces to sports events, and go live and to breaking news three-to-four times a week. Editing and shooting is not a problem. During my time in Atlanta I was part of a team that won a regional Murrow Award & Emmy award for coverage on protests and riots in Atlanta in 2020. Before coming to Atlanta, I reported in Central Texas for KCEN covering a wide swath of stories such as the Austin Bombings, the passing of Barbara Bush, The WWE Tribute to the Troops on Fort Hood, and many feature pieces on the Central Texas community. I was also a freelance reporter in New York City for a number of years working in front of the camera for various digital media start-ups covering, New York's business industry, food, the start-up scene and technology. I also spent time behind the camera as a researcher and booker with Inside Edition. Hailing from sunny Perth Western Australia, I grew up enjoying the coastal life of Australia surfing, fishing, diving and boating. After high school I set my sights on the rest of the world becoming a sailor on the super yachts owned by the wealthiest people in the world. During my time at sea I sailed all over the Mediterranean, the Red Sea in Egypt, the East Coast of the US, and through the Caribbean visiting 15 different islands.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• On-Air Reporter / Host
• Video Editor - News
• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Audio Storyteller

Contessa Gayles is an independent documentary filmmaker, an award-winning journalist and an Emmy-nominated producer. She tells stories about identity, movement and social change, with a focus on race, ethnicity and gender. From 2014 - 2018, she was a producer at CNN, where she created, produced, directed, shot and edited award-winning original series and documentaries, including 'The Feminist on Cellblock Y' (2018 Vera Institute Award Winner, 2018 Eppy Award Finalist), 'Women Who March' (2018 Webby Award Honoree, 2017 Eppy Award Finalist), 'Women Who March: The Movement' (2018 Eppy Award Winner), 'This Is Birth with Lisa Ling' & 'This Is Sex with Lisa Ling' (2017 & 2018 Namic Vision Award Nominees), 'Unstereotyped' and the 2016 News & Documentary Emmy-nominated 'Feeding America's Most Vulnerable Children.' She has additionally contributed to VICE, PBS NewsHour, PBS Frontline, AFROPUNK and forthcoming independent documentary features, including 'Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project' (dir. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster), 'Surge' (dir. Hannah Rosenzweig, Wendy Sachs) and 'Black Mothers' (dir. Débora Souza Silva). Contessa holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.A. in Journalism from New York University, with a concentration in Documentary Film. Her thesis documentary, 'School of Yoga,' screened at the 2015 DOC NYC film festival.

• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - News
• Fixer
• On-Air Reporter / Host
• Reporter / Journalist
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Field Producer
• Series Producer / Show Runner
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• TV News Producer
• Non-Fiction Film Director

I'm a journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area who's recognized for connecting to people and relaying information that's vital. A 2022 Kiplinger Fellow at the Scripps School of Journalism at University of Ohio, I'm skilled at localizing climate stories and promoting solutions. My most recent nonfiction book, "GIRL WARRIORS: How 25 Young Activists Are Saving the Earth" (April 2021, Chicago Review Press), earned a Kirkus starred review ("Engaging, brilliant, and intersectional: a must for shelves everywhere."). My next book, Climate Champions: 15 Women Fighting for Your Future, is due out in 2023 (Chicago Review Press). I'm currently interviewing "Gen Z climate-change activists discuss some of the most pressing issues facing our planet," for "Unearthed" at YAHOO. I've also planned and executed live stream interviews at outlets such as The Lonely Whale.

• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Copywriter
• Digital Content Creator
• Content Strategist
• Reporter / Journalist
• On-Air Reporter / Host
• Senior Editor

I’m a visual journalist in San Francisco. Before moving to news and documentary I worked for a decade as a commercial producer creating content for agencies like Leo Burnett, design studios like IDEO, and big brands like Google and Apple. I’ve also produced for CNN, The Washington Post, and Público, Portugal’s largest newspaper, as well. In 2022, I completed my master’s at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism after working for a decade as a commercial producer. My thesis documentary Hasta la última gota, following the fight for water and a new constitution in Chile, was published in The Intercept. The film also screened at the Mill Valley and Banff Mountain Film Festivals. I work in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

• Video Editor - Documentary
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Reporter / Journalist
• Field Producer
• TV News Producer

Kat O’Toole is a documentary cinematographer based in Oakland, California. She delights in falling into the rhythm of another person’s life while filming handheld. She loves collaborating with directors so that the images they make together can best support the story. She creates beautiful, comfortable and intimate interview setups that allow her collaborators to sink in and open up. Most of all, Kat takes pride in pre-production planning because having all the tools you need frees you up to follow an unexpected thread to someplace even better than you planned to go. Kat studied at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke. Her work has been shown on PBS, the BBC and at Sundance Satellite Programming.

• Documentary DP
• Production Company
• Video Editor - Documentary
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Field Producer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Production Assistant
• Creative Director

Emmy Award winning Bay Area / Sac based DP, camera operator, FAA certified drone operator and sound recordist with over 20 years experience. Owner of a Sony FX9, FX3, Canon C300 Mark II, Blackmagic Pocket 6K, Phantom 4 drone, 1080 HD Sony PMW-500 XDcam, Sound Devices 664 audio mixer / recorder with Lectrosonics 411a Series lavs. News, corporate, documentaries are his specialties with clients such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, MLBtv, Bloomberg TV, The History Channel, PBS etc. Based out of Sacramento and serving the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Felix has full audio and video gear available on request: (c-stands, HMI's, LED's, silk scrims, light kits, Dana Dolly, booms)

• Sound Mixer
• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Gaffer
• Corporate Videographer
• Video Editor - News
• Event Photographer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Drone Operator
• Production Company

For over 10 years I have learned the ins and outs of both large and small scale video production through hard work and hands-on experience. I have built a television studio from scratch, created an entire video department from the ground up, acted as company-wide video quality control, and have seen through the creation of shows from start to finish. I have worked for startups, large corporations and for myself as a freelancer. I know what it takes to get a video production completed with the highest standards while not going overboard with budget and concept. Most importantly, I know how to delegate and use an individual’s strengths to the group’s advantage.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Commercial DP
• Reporter / Journalist
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Animator / Visual Effects Artist
• Documentary DP
• Production Company
• Full-Service Live Production
• Corporate Videographer

Leaf River is a journalist, filmmaker, drone cinematographer, editor, and as of recent, one man production crew. His work has appeared in AJ+, BBC, Reveal (currently Center for Investigative Reporting), Fusion, and Color Magazine. His work tends to focus on the injustices and plight thrust upon the overlooked and left behind members of modern society. He has begun working on his own feature length documentary about an immigrant woman who finds strength and meaning through working with wild horses in New Mexico. He is always ready for the challenge of taking on new work and has the gear and knowledge to handle it.

• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - News
• Drone Operator
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Grip
• Commercial DP
• Reporter / Journalist
• Sound Mixer
• Creative Director

I'm a video producer who has worked for Gizmodo Media Group (GMG) where I shot, scripted, hosted and edited videos for Gizmodo, The Root, Jezebel, Splinter, Lifehacker, Kotaku and other GMG news properties. Before that, I was a digital producer at Fusion where I produced video stories on politics, social justice, religion, immigration and local and global diaspora communities. I've worked for various news outlets including The Huffington Post, CNN, Orange County Weekly and KPCC, the National Public Radio affiliate of Los Angeles. I graduated from the University of California, Irvine and received my Master's degree from Columbia Journalism School.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Line Producer / On-Location
• On-Air Reporter / Host
• Field Producer
• TV News Producer
• Video Editor - News
• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Production Coordinator / Crewing
• Corporate Videographer