Yvette Cabrera, senior reporter at the Center for Public Integrity and a dedicated environmental justice journalist, will receive the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s 2024 Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism.
Cabrera covers inequality in economic and social well-being with a focus on climate justice issues. Throughout her career, Cabrera has reported at the intersection of justice and equity, examining the impact of systemic disparities, such as environmental pollution and contamination, on marginalized communities throughout the United States.
“Yvette’s work exemplifies the commitment of the Sheehan family to promote the practice of investigative journalism exemplifying compassion, courage, and integrity,” said Gil Klein, President of the National Press Club Journalism Institute. “Her thoughtful approach shines light on the long-term impacts that systemic environmental practices have on vulnerable communities. She balances care with accountability - a terrific combination of values to model for investigative journalists everywhere.”
Cabrera’s recent notable work includes highlighting a decades-long fight in a community treated as a dumping ground for hazardous environmental waste, how communities of color bear the brunt of U.S. pollution, and a story on the devastating effects of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. Her Ghosts of Polluters Past series, published by Grist, was honored with a 2023 international Sigma Award for Data Journalism, and a 2023 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
“I’m deeply touched by this recognition and would like to thank the National Press Club Journalism Institute board for this wonderful acknowledgment of my work,” said Yvette Cabrera. “It’s humbling to receive this recognition given in honor of two trailblazing journalists, and particularly meaningful that it’s bestowed by my peers at an organization that I greatly respect for its commitment to upholding and defending the values of a free press.”
Cabrera’s commitment to journalism extends to building community and opportunity among her peers. She is the immediate past president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; a founding member of The Uproot Project, a network for environmental journalists of color; and for two decades served as a board member of CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California, the oldest regional organization of journalists of color in the country.
In 2022, Cabrera was selected as a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center practitioner to create a journalist’s guide for reporting on soil lead contamination, and in 2024 she presented a Ted Talk on solutions to this problem. Cabrera was a 2021 recipient of a Kozik Grant for Climate Justice Reporting, administered jointly by the Institute and the National Press Foundation.
Each year, the Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism recognizes work that best reflects the Sheehans’ extraordinary commitment to the principle that a vibrant democracy depends on an informed citizenry and a free press. The award promotes the practice of investigative journalism exemplifying compassion, courage, and integrity. The Sheehan Award was given in 2023 to Kat Stafford, equity and global race and justice editor with Reuters, and in 2022 to PBS FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative.
The National Press Club will confer the 2024 Sheehan award, along with the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards, during its annual Fourth Estate Award Gala honoring Axios’ Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen on Nov. 21 in Washington, D.C.
The gala dinner is a fundraiser for the Club's nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club Journalism Institute, which produces training to equip journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. Tickets and more information for the event can be found here.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.
Contact: Beth Francesco, National Press Club Journalism Institute executive director, [email protected]
