Olá! Hola! Hello! I’m Fernanda Santos, an editorial director at The 19th. I lead a team of reporters covering education, climate, justice, national affairs and disability and aging. I also manage The 19th’s intersectional coverage of immigration and DEI, our Frances Ellen Watkins Harper reporting fellows and our planning for calendared news events.
I’m an immigrant and an American, born and raised in Brazil and made — a journalist, wife, mother, widow, surfer (!!!) — in the United States, a country that has taught me to embrace the many parts of me. That’s the spirit I carry into my work, which has been focused on elevating the stories of underrepresented and misrepresented communities.
I’ve been a staff writer at The New York Times, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, editorial director at Futuro Media and professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I’ve also written a book, “The Fire Line,” about one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history, and an Off-Broadway musical, “¡Americano!” I live in New York City with my daughter and our capricious orange cat.
My work is free to consume and free to republish because of contributions from readers like you. A donation of $19 goes a long way toward sustaining our nonprofit newsroom.
