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Lil Kalish’s reporting, from Myanmar to the deserts of southern California, has appeared in the Guardian, LAist, Bitch Media, ARTnews, and other outlets. Before joining CalMatters, they were a fellow at Mother Jones. Lil is based in Los Angeles.

Randol White is an award-winning broadcast journalist with more than two decades of radio, television, web and print experience. He is a Northern California native with a lifelong connection to the Sacramento and Reno/Tahoe areas with several immediate family members also calling this portion of the state home. While growing up, his grandparents lived in Tahoe City and Sparks, his brother, a Sac State alum, settled in Elk Grove, and his parents retired in Lincoln.

Farida Jhabvala Romero reports on immigration for KQED News. She was part of a team of journalists who won a national Edward M. Murrow award in 2020 for their work on “Graying California” about seniors as the fastest growing age group in the state. Farida also won a 2018 Outstanding Emerging Journalist award from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California. Before joining KQED, Farida worked at Radio Bilingüe, a national public radio network. Farida earned her master’s degree in journalism from Stanford.

Diana Lambert covers teachers and teaching. Before coming to EdSource, Diana was an education reporter for The Sacramento Bee for more than a decade. She has won numerous awards, including the 2017 James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Society of Professional Journalism, and both a first-place honor for investigative reporting from The Inland Press Association and the McClatchy President’s Award in 2016. Before becoming an education reporter Diana was a bureau chief for the Sacramento Bee. She began her career at age 17 as a part-time proofreader for the Lodi News-Sentinel. Diana earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Sacramento.

EdSource believes that access to a quality education is an important right of all children. We further believe that an informed, involved public is necessary to strengthen California’s schools for the benefit of the state’s children, its civic life, and its economy.

Samantha Young is the California Politics Correspondent for California Healthline, drawing on her 20 years of experience covering local, state and federal government. As a former reporter for The Associated Press, Samantha covered the California Legislature, statewide political campaigns and the state’s groundbreaking climate change law. She spent seven years in Washington, D.C., where she covered Congress for newspapers in the Stephens Media Group. Samantha has been recognized for both her explanatory and watchdog reporting of complex policy issues. She is graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia journalism school.

Sameea Kamal is a reporter/production assistant at CalMatters. She joined CalMatters in June 2021 from the Los Angeles Times, where she was a News Desk editor. Sameea was one of three 2020 IRE Journalist of Color fellows, and previously worked for the Center for Public Integrity. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia Journalism School. Sameea was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California and is one of the Maynard Institute's M200 fellows.

Byrhonda Lyons is a national award-winning video journalist for CalMatters. She creates compelling multimedia stories about how California policy affects people’s everyday lives. From the state’s mental health crisis, to an investigation into shady state contractors, her work aims to hold politicians accountable and educate Californians about the ins and outs of their state government. Byrhonda’s work has appeared on the PBS NewsHour, KPBS, KVIE-PBS, and local television stations throughout California. She’s won a National Headliner Award for her work during the 2018 elections. She has also received several awards from the California News Publishers Association (CNPA).

Emily Zentner is CapRadio's Data Reporter.