Award-winning journalist Billy Jean Louis is a senior editor and reporter for Miami Fourth Estate in Florida. He covered litigation for Bloomberg Law; diversity, equity, and inclusion for The Baltimore Sun; and health and education for The Baxter Bulletin before joining Report for America. His reporting on education has earned him prizes from the Virginia Press Association and Associated Press Media Editors. Jean Louis, a journalism graduate of the University of Florida, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He speaks French and Haitian Creole. He was first drawn to journalism during his youth in Haiti when he was exposed to the coup d’état of Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. At the time, the Haitian press didn’t act as a strong watchdog, inspiring Jean Louis to become a journalist to expose corruption in Haiti — and around the world.
Beat: Hyperlocal editing and reporting in Miami-Dade County for Miami Fourth Estate’s sister publications, the Key Biscayne Independent and Liberty City Independent.
Hyperlocal editing and reporting in Liberty City, Key Biscayne, and surrounding areas in Miami-Dade County. As senior editor, Louis will maintain award-winning coverage in the Key Biscayne Independent while developing a new sister publication, the Liberty City Independent. Liberty City is a historically underserved Black community whose residents face socio-economic challenges, gentrification, climate change and a desire to preserve culture. The focus will be to investigate these and other issues and solutions, and highlights community voices.