Puerto Rico

Luis A. Meléndez

Luis A. Meléndez Pérez is a sports reporter at Metro Puerto Rico. Before joining Report for America, Meléndez Pérez was a promotions producer for Wapa Deportes, the only sports channel in Puerto Rico. Meléndez Pérez worked on campaigns for sporting events, such as the World Baseball Classic, FIBA Americas Qualifiers, and professional sports leagues on the island. While studying at Universidad de Puerto Rico Recinto Arecibo, Meléndez Pérez appeared on a sports radio show. He also created a sports podcast, Sazón Deportivo, where he covers a wide range of athletics.

Metro Puerto Rico

Metro Puerto Rico is a local newspaper that focuses on issues of interest to audiences in Puerto Rico. It has distinguished itself through its multiplatform reach and strong editorial independence. The brand reaches 1.5 million unique users on the web each month and circulates every Thursday in the main cities across Puerto Rico.

El Nuevo Herald

El Nuevo Herald is the second largest Spanish-language news outlet in the United States, covering local, national and international news for more than three decades, striving to be the most credible and dynamic source of news and information by producing journalism that makes a difference. El Nuevo Herald publishes in Spanish but also is routinely published in English in the Miami Herald. El Nuevo Herald shares a newsroom with the Miami Herald and they collaborate on a daily basis. Occasionally, the newspaper also collaborates with WLRN, an NPR affiliate that operates out of our newsroom. The newspaper’s coverage area extends well beyond the local community, reaching an audience of more than 357,000 in print and 3.9 million online. El Nuevo Herald’s digital readers stretch across South Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Amanda Pérez Pintado

Amanda Pérez Pintado covers health for the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), a nonprofit investigative newsroom. Some of her recent work has focused on Puerto Rico’s prison health care system. Before joining the CPI, she reported on science and politics for El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico’s largest daily newspaper. She previously worked as a reporter for USA Today and as a Report for America corps member at Investigate Midwest, a nonprofit news site based in Champaign, Illinois. Pérez Pintado holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus and a master’s from New York University. She has taught journalism courses at her undergraduate alma mater and Sagrado Corazón University. Pérez Pintado is a native of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and a lover of books and horror movies.

Centro de Periodismo Investigativo

The Centro de Periodismo Investigativo is a nonprofit that produces in-depth investigative journalism, published in both Spanish and English, and distributes its content free of charge to readers and media outlets in Puerto Rico and abroad. The CPI has won recognition producing stories on corruption, cronyism in government, electoral campaigns, and public policy in health, education, the economy and the environment. Its work has proven to be crucial and in some instances pivotal in bringing about social change, accountability, recovery and justice.

Joaquín A. Rosado Lebrón

Joaquín A. Rosado Lebrón covers health in Puerto Rico for Metro Puerto Rico. Prior to joining Metro, he reported on air quality and toxic emissions in Puerto Rico for Centro de Periodismo Investigativo and worked as a reporter for the University of Puerto Rico’s radio station, Radio Universidad. His journalism career began by volunteering in a community-led newspaper called El Roble Río Piedras, where he contributed as an editorial designer and writer. His experience as a freelance graphic designer allowed him to collaborate with nonprofit organizations, advertising agencies and media companies. Rosado Lebrón holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Puerto Rico, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising.

Metro Puerto Rico

Metro Puerto Rico is a for-profit multi-platform media outlet in Puerto Rico that delivers journalistic information focused on young professional adults. Our printed product reaches all the urban areas with a strategic distribution. Our website reaches the entire audience with Internet access in Puerto Rico.

Luis Joel Mendez Gonzalez

Luis Joel Méndez González covers government preparedness around climate change for the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, a nonprofit investigative news organization. Born and raised in Moca, Puerto Rico, he was a ProPublica Emerging Reporter in 2019, and a Google News Initiative Fellow in 2020. Méndez González, an LGBTQIA+ first-generation college graduate, has interned with The Miami Herald I-Team, El Nuevo Día Investigative and Data Unit, and Metro Puerto Rico. As a freelancer he has reported for international media outlets. Méndez González holds a master's degree in information design and data visualization from Northeastern University. In his free time, he enjoys reading and writing, and he also loves beauty pageants and coffee.

Centro de Periodismo Investigativo

The Centro de Periodismo Investigativo is a nonprofit that produces in-depth investigative journalism, published in both Spanish and English, and distributes its content free of charge to readers and media outlets in Puerto Rico and abroad. The CPI has won recognition producing stories on corruption, cronyism in government, electoral campaigns, and public policy in health, education, the economy and the environment. Its work has proven to be crucial and in some instances pivotal in bringing about social change, accountability, recovery and justice.

Vanessa Colon Almenas

Vanessa Colon Almenas helps lead a team of reporters for the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), a nonprofit investigative news organization. Colon Almenas, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and her team are delving into the island's recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in 2017. With more than 25 years of journalism experience, she has worked as a reporter, a deputy director and a multimedia editor at Primera Hora, a newspaper. Later, she was the digital deputy director of Puerto Rico's two largest news sites, El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora. Colon Almenas recently completed her master's at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. As an independent journalist her work has been published by the CPI, City Limits, Latino Rebels and CNN en Español.