Aaricka Washington
As the associate editor for How To LA, I not only write daily news stories in collaboration with the podcast, I lead strategy conversations with my team in order to create captivating, impactful stories for the podcast, digital site, radio and social media that capture the life, news, and culture of Los Angeles. In this role, I also report on original, L.A.-centric, in-depth stories monthly for the How To LA podcast. My stories largely focus on marginalized communities, youth and education. Lastly, I plan, coordinate and host community events with the aim of broadening and expanding audience reach within LAist and How To LA.
A community-driven local news reporter at heart, I've spent countless hours talking to parents, teachers, students, community members and school board trustees about the most crucial issues in education. I’ve covered breaking news, enterprise and investigative education stories for Chalkbeat Indiana and the Austin American-Statesman, focusing on the experiences of people from historically under-resourced communities that were similar to my childhood working class neighborhoods. I’ve also written for The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Time Magazine and several other news publications.
Before becoming a professional journalist, I was a Teach for America corps member in Houston, Texas teaching Black, Latino and Southeast Asian kids in low-income schools.
I earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington.
My dad’s parents met in South L.A. after moving from Arkansas and Louisiana during The Great Migration in the late 1940s. They settled in Watts and started a large family of Washingtons. My family is currently all over South L.A. They are indeed witnesses of the most infamous, transformative parts of modern Black L.A. history. I was born in L.A. on the exact day my grandparents were married 40 years earlier. While I’m from L.A, I grew up mostly in Indianapolis, Indiana with my mom and visited nearly every summer. After living in Indianapolis, Houston, Austin and New York, it was time to return to my roots. I’m so happy to be back.
I’m an avid roller skater, long-distance runner, (soon-to-be) swimmer, and one helluva dope Auntie.
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L.A. is where its founder Alvin Ailey first learned to dance. -
The Parks and Rec Department boosts wages 20% over last year for those working at public pools and county lakes.
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Donald Bakeer shares his story as part of a local school program connecting students with seniors living in the community.
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This Black-owned wellness organization hopes to offer a safe, mental and physical wellness space to BIPOC folks in L.A.
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Inspired by a photo series of drivers attempting the merge, we collected a few tales of onramp woe.
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Students at Castellanos Elementary get grass, native plants and more than two dozen new trees.
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The Crenshaw Wall was supposed to get a new mural, but the work's progress has been pause.
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Matthew Brinkley, a psychotherapist, creates space for his Black, LGBTQ communities.
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L.A. County has an expansive bus system with more than 100 routes. But don’t be intimidated to hop on. We got you.
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Listen to the latest How To LA podcast episode to learn about what you need to know about this election year.
