Michele Siqueiros

The L.A. Local News Initiative – which powers Boyle Heights Beat – has a new leader at the helm. 

We’re thrilled to welcome Michele Siqueiros as our new CEO. A passionate advocate for equity and community-driven change, Siqueiros brings a wealth of experience in advancing systemic reform and championing fact-based storytelling to drive social impact. 

Announced last fall, the L.A. Local News Initiative is a pioneering coalition of philanthropy, media, and community organizations working together to fill information gaps, strengthen local democracy, and ensure Angelenos have access to the news they need. With Boyle Heights Beat as its first publication, the initiative will be launching more news organizations that are also for and by L.A. communities, and is committed to building a more informed and engaged L.A. 

The initiative also launched the L.A. Documenters program, which recruits, trains, and compensates local residents to document public meetings. This program aims to cover under-reported local government meetings, making them more accessible to the people of L.A. It’s open to anyone interested in civic engagement, journalism, or simply curious about local governance. For more information on how to get involved, visit our L.A. Documenters page.

Siqueiros, a lifelong Angeleno, has spent her career creating systemic change in California. Now, she takes the helm to lead efforts ensuring that Angelenos have clear, reliable, and impactful journalism about the issues shaping their lives. In the months ahead, Siqueiros will spearhead a community-driven naming and branding process for the organization, while also assembling a business and operations team to support its long-term sustainability—powered by philanthropy, sponsorships, and membership. 

We are excited to have her leading our team. Read more about Siqueiros’ vision here and stay tuned for what’s ahead.

Kris Kelley is the Managing Director of Student Journalism and Community Engagement at Boyle Heights Beat. A former television news producer, she currently runs the community youth journalism project where she has led and mentored students for over a decade. Kris graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts and earned her Master’s in Journalism from University of Southern California, where she currently teaches advanced reporting and live television production.

My background: I was born in Mexico and raised in Boyle Heights, where I got my start in journalism by launching a community blog. Most recently, I worked at the Los Angeles Times and have spent most of my career covering local news in LA, with a focus on community-centered stories, Latino communities and mentoring emerging writers.

What I do: I lead coverage of Boyle Heights and East LA across all platforms to inform, connect and uplift our community. I spend my days listening, planning, editing and coordinating to make sure our stories reflect the community fairly, while supporting and mentoring my team of reporters and freelancers so they can grow along the way.

Why LA?: It’s home. It’s the sounds of Spanglish and other languages, the smell of tacos and kimchi, the way street art tells stories and how, even though I hate traffic, I love how the freeways can take me to the beach or the mountains on a whim.

The best way to contact me: My email is jessica.perez@boyleheightsbeat.org.

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