Esther Quintanilla
ReporterEsther Quintanilla reports on communities across Central California, covering a variety of stories surrounding the rich cultures in the Valley, farmworker issues, healthcare, and much more. She previously reported through the Central Valley News Collaborative, a partnership between the Fresno Bee, Vida en el Valle, KVPR and Radio Bilingüe.
Esther is an award-winning, bilingual reporter whose coverage has been featured on KQED, NPR and Radio Bilingüe. Her work on farmworkers, the Central Valley floods, and the closure of Madera Community Hospital has earned her three Golden Mike awards and two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Esther also collaborated with NPR’s 1A Remaking America series following the collapse of Bitwise Industries.
Esther is a Valley native. She grew up in Bakersfield and moved to the northern San Joaquin Valley in 2017 to earn her B.A. in English with a minor in Writing Studies from the University of California, Merced. After that, she attended the University of Southern California to receive an M.S. in Journalism.
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In one school district in the Central Valley, students and teachers are seeing surprising learning improvements among English learners. That’s despite a pandemic causing learning delays for many students. In today’s episode, we talk with Esther Quintanilla, a reporter with the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, about what’s behind the learning improvements. Plus, the latest news headlines: A Fresno police officer accuses the city of retaliation, and what do voters think of President Trump so far? -
Donald Trump is set to return to office in January when he’s sworn in as the 47th U.S. president. Immigrant communities across the U.S. worry he will make good on promises of mass deportations. So how are groups preparing to support immigrants who might be caught up in those actions? We speak with KVPR’s Esther Quintanilla on the steps some local groups and officials are taking now. Plus, the latest news headlines, including, what does California’s lieutenant governor know about a retaliation case at Fresno State? And more disruption for a Valley raw milk producer.
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Immigrant communities worry Donald Trump will make good on promises of mass deportations now that he has secured a second term in the White House. -
Millions of dollars are expected for different regions of California to boost jobs and the economy. -
In the Central Valley, where a large portion of undocumented immigrants live and work, a coalition of groups are sending out a message of hope during a time of uncertainty. -
California’s Valley is nearly equally split when it comes to party affiliation. But despite party differences, officials say they’re ready to reach across the aisle. -
Former President Donald Trump has promised to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally if he’s reelected. But experts warn mass deportations could have drastic effects in the San Joaquin Valley. -
After a Fresno County ordinance went into effect that prohibits people from sleeping or camping on public property, what support exists to reduce barriers to housing? -
Voters in Fresno, California, got to hear from the U.S. vice presidential candidates during their first – and only – debate on Tuesday. Voters sensed a different tone this time around, unlike the previous debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. -
Twenty-eight of the passengers were Mexican farm laborers. Some were part of the bracero farmworker program, while others were undocumented immigrants being deported.
