Elizabeth Aguilera

Assistant Professor of Journalism

  • Los Angeles CA UNITED STATES

Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts

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Biography

Elizabeth Aguilera is an award-winning multimedia journalist with experience in print journalism, public radio and digital news. Aguilera has spent the majority of her career covering issues at the intersection of policy and people including health care, immigration, environmental health and climate. She came to LMU from the Knight Wallace Fellowship at the Wallace House Center for Journalists at the University of MIchigan. Previously, Aguilera reported for CalMatter about health care policy and Southern California Public Radio/KPCC 89.3 where she produced stories about community health. There, her reporting revealed lead-tainted soil on school campuses near a former lead battery recycling plant that spurred district action. Previously, Aguilera was a staff writer at the San Diego Union-Tribune where she covered immigration and demographics. At the U-T, she won a “Best of the West” award for her coverage of sex trafficking between Mexico and the United States. At the Denver Post, where Aguilera wrote about urban affairs and business, she was named a Livingston Award finalist for her reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She is a Marshall Memorial Fellow and an International Center for Journalists alum. She is also a lifetime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. The L.A. native is a graduate of Pepperdine University and the University of Southern California.

Education

University of Southern California

M.A.

Specialized Journalism

2010

Pepperdine University

BA

Journalism and Political Science

1997

Social

Areas of Expertise

Editing and Production
Social Issues
Podcasting
Reporting
Radio Production

Accomplishments

Knight-Wallace Fellow, University of Michigan

2024-05-01

Knight-Wallace Fellowships offer accomplished journalists two rare commodities: time and resources. Journalists spend an academic year at the University of Michigan to access the resources of a world-class university and dive into a journalism project. Aguilera focused on the intersection of climate change and environmental racism, and exploring what will happen to lower income and less-resourced communities when domestic climate migration begins.

Price Child Health and Welfare Journalism Award, Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego

2020

National Edward R. Murrow Award for “Graying California,”

2020

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Affiliations

  • SAG-AFTRA : Member
  • Cerritos Community College : Journalism Advisory Board
  • National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) : Lifetime Member

Articles

They Power the U.S. Economy, But Will Struggle to Afford Health Care

Capital & Main

Elizabeth Aguilera

2025-12-12

Health insurance costs will skyrocket for millions of Americans if certain tax credits expire. Small business owners and the self-employed will be hit especially hard.

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More people will be eligible for health insurance through Covered California

CalMatters

2022

Under previous rules, family members of those who had insurance through an employer were not eligible for Covered California. In some cases, those employer plans cover the employee but are expensive for spouses and children, leaving families with few options.

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Screening for adverse childhood experiences is increasing, but are patients getting treatment?

CalMatters

2022

Medi-Cal doctors are screening more patients for adverse childhood experiences, but they aren’t required to report whether those patients receive therapy or other services they may need. Yet getting that helps is key to preventing chronic health or mental health conditions later in life, research finds.

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