Sonam Vashi
I'm a journalist and news leader in Atlanta. Currently, I'm part of the leadership team of City Bureau's Documenters Network, which pays and trains communities across the country to report on local government.
Previously, I co-founded and co-directed Canopy Atlanta, a community-powered nonprofit newsroom producing stories chosen, reported, and presented with Atlantans. I led our fundraising, operations, and launched Atlanta Documenters. I was a 2022 John S. Knight Community Impact Fellow.
As a journalist, I've reported for the New York Times, Atlanta magazine, ProPublica, National Geographic, and several others. I usually write about criminal justice, immigration, and Atlanta, where I've lived nearly all my life. I also analyze data, edit, and research, with a specialty in public records, Atlanta history, and Jim Crow–era racial terrorism. (I once co-taught an Emory University class about the 1906 Atlanta Massacre.) I once worked at CNN.
If you'd like to work together or want to say hey, I'm at sonamdvashi@gmail.com.
Selected Reporting
My work appears in: the Appeal | the Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Atlanta magazine | CNN | Columbia Journalism Review | Creative Loafing Atlanta | GSU Research Magazine | the Guardian | the Imprint | Mother Jones | National Geographic | the New York Times | ProPublica | Reveal | Saporta Report | Stuff Mom Never Told You | Type Investigations | the Washington Post | WebMD News | Wildsam
Longform
'Law and Order for Everybody': What will it take for APD to change the way it polices itself? (2020) / Atlanta magazine and Type Investigations *
* Winner of the Atlanta Press Club's 2020 Investigative Reporting AwardTrial by Social Media (2019) / Atlanta magazine *
* Winner of the Atlanta Press Club's 2019 Narrative Nonfiction AwardWhat will save Buford Highway from COVID-19? (2020) / Atlanta magazine
Destroyed: How the trashing of rape kits failed victims and jeopardizes public safety (2018) / CNN *
* With Ashley Fantz and Sergio Hernandez, winner of the Atlanta Press Club's 2018 Investigative Reporting Award, tied winner of a 2019 Eppy Award in for Best Investigative/Enterprise Feature on a Website, winner of EVAWI's 2020 Media Excellence Award, nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction, second place for POY's 2018 Documentary Project of the Year, and finalist for NIHCM Foundation’s 2018 Digital Media Award.Justice and immigration
Can Forest Park keep its Hispanic residents? That may depend on police. (2021) / Canopy Atlanta
How immigrant communities beat back ICE and helped flip Georgia (2020) / The Appeal
After a wave of violent threats against election workers, Georgia sees few arrests (2021) / ProPublica
A Hispanic newspaper's near-death experience (2019) / Atlanta magazine
How police brutality and medical neglect cost a man his life (2015) / The Georgia Civil Rights Cold Case ProjectAtlanta and the folks who live there
What role do tourists play in the future of Confederate monuments? (2020) / National Geographic *
* Bronze Award in Historical Travel at the 30th annual NATJA awards
Jackee White used to style the hair of Atlanta rappers, but driving changed her life (2019) / Atlanta magazine
24 Hours along Buford Highway (2019) / Atlanta magazine (contributor)
Atlanta's happiest chef explains his secrets. And why he loves you. (2020) / Atlanta magazine
Miscellaneous subjects
United, We're Not: Abortion rights (2020) / Reveal
Greyhound connects America. What happens if intercity buses disappear? (2021) / National Geographic
Love comes and goes, but Jalisco's hard-shell tacos are forever (2020) / Atlanta magazine
Can land trusts keep some homes affordable forever? (2019) / Saporta Report
Memorializing Fulton County's lynching victims (2019) / Georgia State University AYSPS Magazine
Contact
Appearances
I've spoken at universities, conferences, and events, like this one on the 1906 Atlanta Massacre, as well as the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast, talking about Asian American identity.
Related to my work with nonprofit/startup news, I've spoken at or been interviewed by Nieman Lab, Khabar magazine, the Center for Cooperative Journalism, PEN America, JSK at Stanford, the American Press Institute, and many more.
Photo at top taken by Max Blau at the Georgia Guidestones.