Jen Reel
By Jen Reel:
Observatory Podcast No. 4: Living Undocumented
When the DACA Act was implemented, 24-year-old Victor Erives was able to legally live, work and attend school in the country he calls home. Now a Supreme Court ruling could jeopardize those same opportunities for millions of others.
When the DACA Act was implemented, 24-year-old Victor Erives was able to legally live, work and attend school in the country he calls home. Now a Supreme Court ruling could jeopardize those same opportunities for millions of others. Read More
Observatory Podcast No. 2: Second Chances
Dara Musick was a career criminal with nearly two decades behind bars; now, she's sharing her story in Texas theaters.
Dara Musick was a career criminal with nearly two decades behind bars; now, she's sharing her story in Texas theaters. Here's her journey, in her own words. Read More
The Things They Left Behind
When migrants die in South Texas, the objects they leave behind hold clues to their identities.
In the fall of 2013, Observer reporter Melissa del Bosque and I visited Baylor University’s forensics lab, one of several Texas labs that handles the remains of unidentified migrants who die in Texas after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The forensic … Read More
Observatory Podcast No. 1: Chance
Chance was 16 years old when she told her parents she was gay. Here's what it was like for a kid to grow up in an environment where she's told over and over again that who she genuinely feels herself to be, is wrong. Read More
Direct Quote: Grief’s Gift
Melba Martinez has spent most of her life in the theater. She’s won numerous awards as both an actor and director, received a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies in theater, film and performance arts, and spent 22 years teaching and directing at St. Edward’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre in Austin. The last nine of those years she served as the department chair. But the death of her niece over a decade ago sent Martinez into a deep depression that eventually led her to change course and become a painter of roses. Read More
Direct Quote:
Renaissance Woman
Jennifer Rose Davis started her career as a graphic designer. Tt was her hobbies and a later bachelor's degree in music that led her to a career in designing, acting, musical scoring and costume- and mask-making. Read More
Direct Quote: Keeper of the Creek
Joanna Wolaves is the executive of the Shoal Creek Conservancy, a nonprofit founded in 2013 to help restore and protect Austin’s Shoal Creek. Read More
Direct Quote: Celebrating Gender Diversity Through Art
Drew Riley is a 29-year-old Austin artist and creator of “Gender Portraits,” a series of paintings accompanied by personal stories of gender nonconformists. Read More
Direct Quote: An Inside View
Lauren Johnson knows all too well the stigma that's often associated with having a felony conviction. Johnson now advocates with Austin-based nonprofit Grassroots Leadership to help people with a criminal history and their families get access to food stamps. Read More