Sharmila Venkatasubban is a senior editor and health reporter at the Florida Trib. Before joining Report for America, Venkatasubban was a reporter, editor, and researcher for local and international news outlets for two decades. She got her start at alt-weeklies in Pittsburgh and has worked at BuzzFeed News, Al Jazeera Media Network, and, most recently, at CNN. Venkatasubban has helped shape crucial stories at the height of #MeToo, as well as investigations across fields including education, health care, law enforcement, and government accountability. At AJ+, she was part of a team that won an Emmy Award for its coverage of the war in Gaza.
Beat: Senior Health Accountability Reporter
Jacksonville has the largest municipal government in Florida and is one of the biggest political battlegrounds in America. At about 1 million residents, a combined county-city government is responsible for a head-swiveling list of responsibilities: Urban and rural police and fire services, beach renourishment, downtown redevelopment, affordable housing, and managing a broad system of parks and conservation land. The local government watchdog produces high-impact stories that keep this community's leaders in check.