Lia Salvatierra covers education in Northern Kentucky for LINK nky. Before reporting for LINK, Salvatierra spent two years as a local government accountability reporter for the Ouray County Plaindealer with Report for America. Her accountability work spanned a first-place investigation on an effort to secure local ownership over a federal reservoir to award-winning features on the area’s striking characters. In 2024, after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, Salvatierra attended the Hearst National Journalism Awards Championship, where she won second place for her article on the use of artificial intelligence chatbots for psychotherapy. Her work has also appeared in WyoFile, INDY Week and other outlets in North Carolina, Wyoming and Colorado.
When she’s not wordsmithing, Salvatierra is learning silversmithing.
Beat: Education
This full-time education reporter will cover Northern Kentucky’s uniquely fragmented educational landscape. This role will investigate disparities across districts, the root causes driving those inequities, chronic absenteeism, funding issues, and emerging trends shaping student outcomes. The ideal candidate is curious and committed to illuminating challenges—and solutions—through rigorous, community-centered reporting. This beat demands depth, persistence, and a reporter eager to tell stories that truly matter to families across the region.