Walker covers education for the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y. Born, raised and educated in Mississippi, Walker worked as an editorial assistant at the Jackson Free Press, Mississippi’s alternative weekly. A 2019 cum laude graduate of Milsaps College, Walker was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, the Purple & White and president of the Black Student Union. As a journalist, she’s covered multiple issues and breaking news stories including a Confederate flag protest at the state capitol and an in-depth look at the racial overtones of a campus robbery. Her honors thesis examined the role of black women in modern American social movements. She also taught yoga at an alternative school in Jackson and participated in an archeological dig in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.
Beat: Public education in the "last in nation" district
Rochester schools are last in the nation when it comes to academic progress, according to a Stanford study. A state educator found such dysfunction, he called for a "total reset" of the school district. This beat helps establish accountability for the community's failure to educate, identify solutions, inform policy-making and change lives. To that end, this Reporter works with other journalists in our Time to Educate initiative, which seeks to identify solutions and serve as a catalyst for change. The group focuses on sharing the experiences of families, mostly low-income and people of color, through a solutions journalism lens. The Reporters team with our engagement editor to connect their work with the community, helping inform and empower parents to create better futures for children.