Teresa Cotsirilos is an award-winning audio journalist who covers immigration for KALW in San Francisco. Her project explores climate change’s impact on California’s low-wage immigrant workers. A graduate of Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, Teresa previously covered criminal justice and climate change for KYUK in Western Alaska. Her work won seven statewide journalism awards, including Best Investigative Reporting in all mediums in 2018. She has produced work for the New York Times, Weekend Edition, The California Report Magazine, KQED, Alaska News Nightly and a range of other publications. Prior to becoming a journalist, Teresa sold eyepatches at San Francisco’s 826 Valencia and taught sex education in rural Namibia. Share news tips with her at immigration [at] kalw [dot] org.

Articles

A home is consumed by the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018.
Health Equity & Social Justice
Community & Public Health
Environment & Climate

When Fires Burn Though Neighborhoods, Some Immigrants Workers Become First Responders

Climate change is fueling devastating wildfires in California, and in some cases, low-wage immigrant workers are cleaning up after them. They sweep ash out of houses and strip debris from burned buildings.

Race and Equity
Poverty and Class
Environmental Health
Immigrant and Migrant Health
Housing and Homeslessness
Community Safety
A firefighter keeps watch during the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California on Nov. 9, 2018.
Health Equity & Social Justice
Community & Public Health
Environment & Climate
Children & Families

As California’s Wildfires Get Worse, Domestic Workers Fight For Protection

In October 2019, a stretch of dry weather and strong winds sparked dozens of wildfires across California, killing three people and destroying hundreds of homes. For the low-wage immigrants who work in those homes, fire season brings its own dangers.

Poverty and Class
Environmental Health
Housing and Homeslessness
Community Safety