Arizona Luminaria is thrilled to announce that experienced Arizona reporter Yana Kunichoff is joining our team full time as a Report for America corps member.
Starting in July, she will cover stories about community resilience in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Yana will shine a light on how communities are addressing systemic challenges in a bottom-up way and how people can participate with agency in civic life.
Report for America is a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities across the United States.
“Arizona reflects many complicated realities: it is a multicultural state with a strikingly beautiful landscape facing resource challenges — all while sitting firmly in the cross hairs of a deeply divided political moment. I’m thrilled to be joining AZ Luminaria as a reporter covering community resilience to help tell stories that encompass that nuanced picture,” Yana said.
“I’m excited to hear what you think is working in your community and what isn’t. What has felt challenging and what has felt exciting in your community,” she added.
Yana is a reporter and documentary producer. She is writing about the U.S. Senate race in Arizona for Luminaria as a freelance journalist. She most recently covered education for the Arizona Republic, where she wrote about battles over mask mandates, the expansion of the school voucher program and state superintendent Tom Horne’s efforts to limit teacher training on equity issues.
Yana also has covered education for Chalkbeat Chicago, worked as a special projects editor for Migratory Notes newsletter, produced a feature-length documentary about the experience of elderly prisoners in Illinois jails and oversaw a team of reporters as an editor at The Moscow Times.
Her work has won multiple awards, including a March 2016 Sidney Hillman award for an investigation into the Chicago police union’s misinformation about fatal police shootings. She earned an MSJ from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
In her free time, you can find Yana climbing rocks, eating snacks and reading books, all preferably outside.
“When I met Yana I was struck by her commitment to truly local journalism that values the needs of our neighbors and communities over any corporate standard set by people outside of Arizona,” said Dianna Náñez, executive editor and co-founder of Luminaria.
“We are hearing from more Arizonans who want local news that cares about the most vulnerable among us. Yana has made a career of delivering that exact ethical reporting,” Dianna said. “I hope you are as excited as I am to watch her dig into news stories that unite people with patience, persistence and common ground.”
“In my nearly 15 years making journalism, I’ve sought newsrooms whose values deeply align with mine. I have appreciated AZ Luminaria’s thoughtful approach to making sure their coverage reflects the broad range of communities they are reporting for, whether in an investigation or fast-turn news story,” Yana said. “They are also a team who enjoys the work they do together. I’m really excited to join that effort this summer.”
We encourage community members to reach out to Yana to tell her about issues you want her to cover in Southern Arizona. She can be reached at ykunichoff@azluminaria.org or on X @Yanazure.
Report for America will fund a portion of Yana’s salary. Reporting the in-depth and context-filled stories that Yana will produce takes substantial time and resources. Becoming a member helps match the funds for Yana’s job.
“Yana shares our understanding at Arizona Luminaria that we need more reporters in our state dedicated to in-depth news that centers the voices of people working to build thriving communities, breaks down complex issues with context and compassion, and is fierce about holding corrupt power to account,” Dianna said. “We are lucky to work with her and hope that Arizona Luminaria readers will help us fully fund her position.”
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