Prior to joining Investigative Post, Smith-Perez produced podcasts, fact-checked and reported for The Nation. Smith-Perez has also worked extensively as a freelance fact-checker for several outlets, including Mother Jones, Ambrook Research, Noema Magazine, and HarperCollins. He started his journalism career reporting on COVID’s impact on immigrant communities in his hometown of Boston, where he worked for an immigrant and refugee advocacy non-profit writing newsletters. As a student at Columbia Journalism School, Smith-Perez reported more extensively on the housing and overdose crisis. Following his graduation, he hosted and produced a segment about Hepatitis C for VICE News, and was a fellow at the Columbia Age Boom Academy, where he honed his reporting and research skills on the aging, housing and health beats. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists, and a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Beat: Urban affairs in Buffalo, NY
Racism is baked into the fabric of Buffalo and Western New York, with dire consequences for its Black and Latino residents. The region is one of the most segregated in the nation and the city's poverty and violent crime rates rank among the worst in the U.S. Abusive policing and poor educational attainment are also problems. Investigative Post is building a team of reporters to tackle the root problems and identify solutions. This newsroom has a reputation for high-quality, high-impact reporting. This aggressive reporter should have a commitment to social justice and data skills.