Data journalism pioneer Jennifer LaFleur will join the Center for Public Integrity as senior editor and help lead the nonprofit news organization’s investigative reporting on inequality.
LaFleur has served as data editor at the Investigative Reporting Workshop since 2017.
Her new position will include oversight of Public Integrity’s data journalism as well as a broader role in managing the newsroom, including leading major investigative projects and collaborations with other news organizations.
“I’m thrilled to be joining such a talented team covering a defining issue of our time,” LaFleur said.
At the Investigative Reporting Workshop, LaFleur worked with Chuck Lewis, who founded Public Integrity in 1989 as one of the first nonprofit model national investigative news organizations in the country. Previously, LaFleur worked as a senior editor at Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, where she contributed to or edited dozens of major projects, including one that was a 2018 Pulitzer finalist. She also worked as the director of data journalism at ProPublica and has held similar roles at the Dallas Morning News and other newspapers.
A graduate of Benedictine College and the Missouri School of Journalism, LaFleur teaches at American University and has trained thousands of people in data journalism. She is a former training director for Investigative Reporters & Editors, and she currently serves on the boards of IRE and the National Center for Disability and Journalism. Among the many awards and accolades LaFleur has received over the course of her career was induction into the National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame in 2011.
“We couldn’t ask for a newsroom leader with more experience or a stronger reputation and relationships than Jennifer has,” said Public Integrity Editor in Chief Matt DeRienzo. “Her passion and vision for our mission of investigating inequality and commitment to journalism collaborations are a wonderful fit.”
Public Integrity’s investigative reporting examines the causes and effects of inequality, with a focus on employment, housing, health care, education and access to democracy. Its past work on the influence of money in democracy, abuse of the public trust, environmental justice and other topics has been recognized with some of the highest awards in journalism, including the Pulitzer Prize, Goldsmith, Edward R. Murrow, Gerald Loeb and George Polk Awards.