Kali is an ambitious journalist dedicated to telling stories that empower people to engage with their communities and make educated decisions for themselves and their families. She currently works as an investigative and environmental reporter at the Victoria Advocate, an award-winning, daily newspaper along the middle Texas Coast.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Texas Monthly and the Austin Chronicle, among others.
Born and raised in Houston, Kali graduated from The University of Texas at Austin as a Senior Fellows honors student with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a certificate in creative writing.
She continues to build upon her skills through conferences, fellowships and online training sessions. She served as a 2019-2020 John Jay College of Criminal Justice/Arnold Ventures reporting fellow and is a member of the Society for Environmental Journalists.
Kali has been recognized by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors and the Headliners Foundation of Texas and the Texas Press Association with several awards for her work.
She is passionate about covering the environment, criminal justice system and socioeconomic inequalities.
Most Recent Projects
More than a number: The people we lost to COVID-19
Kali and her colleague, Ciara McCarthy, spoke with dozens of families who lost loved ones to COVID-19 in the Victoria Advocate’s coverage region to memorialize community members in a story that ran A1 on Sunday, Dec. 27. As part of this COVID-19 memorial project, Kali also wrote ‘I can’t believe she’s gone’: Pandemic restrictions, stressors compound grief process.
Out of Work in America
In partnership with the New York Times, Kali was one of twelve reporters in twelve different states who spent several months documenting how the dual health and economic crises of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the lives of a dozen Americans. Leading up to a historic election, the New York Times ran the project in print and online on Oct. 23. The Advocate ran a local version on Oct. 25.
Kali Venable | Journalist 