Meet The Modesto Bee’s equity/underserved communities reporter. What do you want covered?

I’m thrilled to be a part of The Modesto Bee’s Economic Mobility Lab team. I am one of three reporters on the team, along with Kristina Karisch and Emily Isaacman, who will focus on economic development and education, respectively.

As the equity and underserved communities reporter, I will take a deeper look into disparity within Modesto and Stanislaus County.

For residents living west of Highway 99 in Modesto, there are gaps in equity compared to those residing in the east.

Some differences include infrastructure, education, health care, transportation and easy access to nutritious food.

Since the coronavirus pandemic, these gaps have widened, and even more for the Latino community, which adds up to 47% of the population in Stanislaus County.

As a Central Valley native, I’m looking forward to the responsibility of providing solutions-based journalism. Given the high population of Latinos in the region, I will use my Spanish-language skills to engage and understand my community.

I was born and raised in Fresno. I’m a first-generation high school and now college graduate. I received my bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in human rights from San Jose State University in 2020.

Prior to working at The Modesto Bee, I was the news editor of the Spartan Daily. I also gained experience through my time at The Rampage, The Fresno Bee, El Espartano Noticias, Update News, NBC and Telemundo.

If you’d like to send me a news tip or have ideas about stories, please email abriseno@modbee.com.

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 12:35 PM.