Monterey Bay This Week: Santa Cruz mayoral race, wrongful convictions, invasive pests, and more

Elena is an Emmy award-winning researcher, reporter, and producer. At KAZU, they cover agriculture, housing and homelessness, and the aftermath of the January 2025 lithium battery fire in Moss Landing. Their reporting and research has been featured on NPR, KQED, Netflix, Reveal, CalMatters, and more. Elena is an alum of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and UC Santa Cruz. You can reach them at elena@kazu.org.

Erin is an award-winning journalist and photographer. She's written for local and national outlets, including the Smithsonian and Science Magazine. She has a master's degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Martha Tabares is a student intern at KAZU News, and started in January 2026. She is a third year at Cal Sate Monterey Bay, and is majoring in Humanities and Communications with a minor in Journalism. Martha has hopes for a career in fashion journalism.