Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Timeline
Awards
Community Service
Conversations
Generic

Cristela Guerra

El Paso,TX

Summary

An award-winning journalist with 20 years of experience across print and radio. A thoughtful moderator who has facilitated compelling conversations in museums, universities, and institutions across the country. Experienced reporter/host with skills in narrative writing, audio production, newsletters and distilling complicated subjects on deadline.

Overview

17
17
years of professional experience

Work History

Regional Manager for the Southwest

Report for America
07.2025 - Current
  • I oversee 35 journalists (corps members) covering variety of beats and the media companies they work for across nine states from Denver, Colorado to Birmingham, Alabama
  • I work on a team with five other regional managers and on an annual basis we go through two application processes, choosing newsrooms and journalist to add to our program
  • I bring more than ten years of mentorship and leadership experience to the role

Senior Arts & Culture Reporter

WBUR
12.2018 - 07.2025
  • Nearly seven years as a senior reporter WBUR in Boston producing compelling arts and culture pieces that aired locally and nationally on NPR and Here & Now
  • I covered the journey of Venezuelan migrants from the border to Massachusetts, protests across New England, and the aftermath of the pandemic alongside profiles of artists and new exhibits, theatre performances and the ever-changing monument landscape
  • Served as the final fill-in host for the daily news show, Radio Boston and frequent moderator on stage WBUR's venue, CitySpace

Nieman Fellow

Harvard University
09.2023 - 05.2024

• One of 24 journalists chosen from around the world for prestigious fellowship that provided leadership and development, taking classes at Harvard and MIT and research opportunities

• My studies examined stories from the diaspora, including those of my own Panamanian heritage, what compels people to migrate and how to still build community. Turned into podcast episode for Latino USA:

https://www.latinousa.org/2025/02/23/panamacanal/

Staff Writer

The Boston Globe
02.2015 - 12.2018

• Started out as an arts reporter and switched to Metro cover breaking news, courts, social services, LGBTQ+ issues, and immigration

• Spent my last year on the Express Desk, producing a combination of quick-hit web stories alongside long-form narrative i.e. Families leaving Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria and Trump's family separation policy

Staff Writer

The News-Press
09.2008 - 02.2015
  • Produced an award-winning two-part series called “A Spark of Hope,”
    following a family for nine months as they navigated their son's chronic
    disease. It raised $50,000 and an immense outpouring from the community
  • Served as Cape Coral city government reporter for the county's largest city. The beat required public records requests, data analysis and investigative reporting. I also covered cops, education, general assignment, and lead the coverage when same-sex marriage passed in Florida

Education

B.S. - Journalism

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
05.2007

Nieman Fellow - undefined

Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
05.2024

Timeline

Regional Manager for the Southwest

Report for America
07.2025 - Current

Nieman Fellow

Harvard University
09.2023 - 05.2024

Senior Arts & Culture Reporter

WBUR
12.2018 - 07.2025

Staff Writer

The Boston Globe
02.2015 - 12.2018

Staff Writer

The News-Press
09.2008 - 02.2015

Nieman Fellow - undefined

Harvard University

B.S. - Journalism

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Awards

  • 2024 ALX100 Honoree, Amplify LatinX
  • 2024 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, as part of 'Continuing Coverage' for work at the U.S.-Mexico border on the journey of Venezuelan migrants
  • YW Boston 2023 Academy of Women Achievers Honoree, Sylvia Ferrell-Jones Awardee
  • 2019 Latina Leader, Amplify Latinx
  • 2014 First Place for Non-Deadline News Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine State Awards
  • 2014 National & Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, for News Series
  • 2014 Two Second Place awards, for Features & Arts Writing; Niche Site/Channel from the Florida Society of News Editors Journalism Contest
  • 2013 First Place in Narrative Writing/Voice, Gannett’s second quarter Awards of Excellence
  • 2013 Second Place for Minority Beat Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine State Awards

Community Service

  • Vice-president, NAHJ New England, 2017 - 2019, 2021-present
  • Vice-chair, Raw Art Works, Lynn, MA
  • Current Mentor, Next Generation Radio
  • Former mentor, Girl’s Inc., NAHJ Student Projects, AAJA JCamp

Conversations

  • Conversation with Tourmaline on 'Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson,' Cambridge Public Library, 05/20/25,
  • Conversation with Jamaica Kincaid, Museum of Fine Arts, 05/8/25
  • Conversation with Roxane Gay on 'The Portable Feminist Reader,' First Parish Church, 03/01/25
  • Conversation with Jennifer Finney Boylan on 'Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us,' The Brattle Theatre, 02/01/25
  • Conversation with Imani Perry on 'Black in Blues,' The Brattle Theatre, 01/01/25
  • 'Migrant and Refugee Rights in Massachusetts from a Journalist’s Perspective,' Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, 09/01/24
  • Commencement Speaker at the Latinx Affinity Graduation Celebration, Harvard University, 05/01/24
  • Reinterpreting ‘Madama Butterfly’ for the 21st century, WBUR CitySpace, 12/01/23
  • Where Art and Life Sciences meet, Museum of Fine Arts, 09/01/22
  • Newsmakers: Addressing the legacies of systemic racism in national monuments, WBUR CitySpace, 03/01/22
  • In Conversation with Misty Copeland And The Ballerinas Of The 152nd Street Black Ballet Legacy, WBUR CitySpace, 12/01/21
  • Boston Mayoral Candidate Forum on Art, Culture, and Creativity, Zoom, 09/01/21
  • In Conversation with Jeanine Cummins, author of 'American Dirt,' WBUR CitySpace, 01/01/20

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Cristela Guerra