Boyle Heights Beat
is a bilingual community news project produced by youth, offering “noticias por y para la comunidad,” or “news by and for the community.”
The Boyle Heights Beat/Pulso de Boyle Heights is a bilingual, independent project under the fiscal sponsorship of the non-profit Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs.
Boyle Heights Beat offers a unique brand of community journalism, built around neighborhood meetings that youth reporters lead each quarter to solicit ideas and hear concerns. The New York Times hailed Boyle Heights Beat for serving “an ever greater need” for immigrant communities to have their stories heard. The Columbia Journalism Review praised its unique brand of community journalism, lauding its youth-led community meetings, which give residents a chance to help set the news agenda. The Beat sustains its youth development and community news project entirely from foundations and individual support. To learn more about how to contribute to our success, go here
Boyle Heights Beat Staff
Christine Kelley/ Executive Director
Kris Kelley is the Executive Director and Publisher of Boyle Heights Beat. A former television news producer, she currently runs the community youth journalism project where she has led and mentored students for the past 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.
Jacqueline Ramirez/ Social Media Manager/Radio Producer
Jacqueline Ramirez is a former Boyle Heights Beat alumni. She is currently the Social Media Manager and Radio Producer for Boyle Heights Beat. After graduating from Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in 2015, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and New Media at Mount Saint Mary’s University.
Kate Valdez/ Program Coordinator
Kate Valdez is a proud Boyle Heights native who is a 2018 graduate of the Math, Science and Technology Magnet Academy at Roosevelt High School. A member of the 2016-2016 BHB cohort, she is currently the Program Coordinator for Boyle Heights Beat. She was a fellow at Ghetto Film School too, where she underwent a 3-year film academy. Her passion for storytelling is what connects her aspirations across artistic mediums such as journalism, photography and filmmaking.
Alejandra Molina/Journalist Mentor
Alejandra Molina is a reporter with the Latino Initiatives team at the Los Angeles Times. Before joining the Times in 2023, she was a national reporter covering Latinos and religion in the West Coast for Religion News Service. Previously, she covered cities and immigration for the Southern California News Group.
Kevin Martinez/ Community Engagement Manager
Kevin is a proud alumni of the Boyle Heights Beat. He was part of the second cohort (2011-2012) and wrote a couple of stories that focused on Latinx stereotypes in Hollywood and profiled a local mom-and-pop café. After graduating from Theodore Roosevelt HS, he pursued a Bachelors of Science in Sociology (2016) and a Masters in Education, Culture & Society (2018) from Westminster College and the University of Utah, respectively. He returned to LA in 2018 to work in non-profit educational organizations where he utilized his research on social justice, critical race theory and youth empowerment into practice. He rejoined Boyle Heights Beat in the Spring of 2022 as a youth mentor and now working as the Community Engagement Manager.
Carmen González/ Community Outreach Coordinator
Carmen González is a radio host and reporter. She was a youth reporter for Boyle Heights Beat from 2017 to 2019 where they wrote about societal issues and hosted the Boyle Heights Beat podcast, Radio Pulso. The proud 2019 Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School graduate has gone on to work at KCRW, UCLA Labor Center, The Corsair, and most recently, CalMatters. Carmen will be supporting Boyle Heights Beat as they engage with the Boyle Heights community. She tweets @thtMXanwriter.
Alex Medina/ Community Reporter
Alex is a proud Angeleno and Boyle Heights Beat alumnus (2015-2018). After graduating from Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, he went on to pursue a Bachelors of Arts in Hispanic Studies & Creative Writing at Hamilton College in Upstate New York. Upon graduation in 2022, Alex returned to his hometown where he now serves as a community reporter for the Beat, highlighting what makes Boyle Heights a beautiful neighborhood.
Andrew Lopez/Reporter
Andrew Lopez is a Los Angeles native with roots all over the eastside. He studied Humanities at Pasadena City College and transferred to San Francisco State University to study Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts in 2014. He comes to Boyle Heights from Oakland, where he was recently working to get his masters degree at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He enjoys covering the intersections between art, culture, and history within communities. Andrew is part of the inaugural cohort of the California Local News Fellowship and will be supporting Boyle Heights Beat into 2025.
Ricky Rodas/Reporter
Ricky Rodas is the community reporter for Boyle Heights Beat via the CA Local News Fellowship. Rodas, who is Salvadoran American, grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and attended Cal State LA. He is also a member of the 2020 graduating class of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Rodas was previously a 2022 reporting fellow for KALW and covered immigrant-owned small businesses for The Oaklandside through a partnership with Report For America.
