Chiara Profenna

About

Current Reporting Fellow for The Oregonian/OregonLive covering religion, faith and cultural connections. Pursuing M.S. in Communications from S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. I began my journalism career at the University of Portland as a news reporter before being elected as the first diversity, equity and inclusion editor for The Beacon. During my time on The Beacon, my writing and organizational DEI efforts were recognized by The Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated College Press. I graduated from the University of Portland with a B.A. in English May 2023 and was the recipient of the Louis J. Masson Outstanding English Major award.Following graduation, I was chosen by the Asian American Journalists Association and the Society of Professional Journalists for an Emerging Northwest Journalists Internship. During 10 weeks at The Oregonian, I wrote news and feature articles for the life and culture team, spanning a variety of topics and sections.Before returning to The Oregonian newsroom as an Advance Local Fellow, I worked as a DEI Rural Storytelling Fellow for Pioneer Utility Resources. In this position, I pitched and wrote original DEI-focused features for Ruralite Magazine covering the entire Pacific Northwest over the course of a six-month period.