Michelle Zacarias (she/her) is an award-winning journalist and queer Latina storyteller from Chicago. For over a decade, she has reported on issues related to politics, civic engagement, LGBTQIA+ issues, access justice, and state-sanctioned violence. Michelle currently resides in Southern California, where she works as a reporter for CALÓ News and serves as a UC Berkeley Local News Fellow.

A passionate advocate for healthcare equity, Michelle also authors the personal column Sin Pena, where she candidly shares her experiences as a two-time cancer survivor and navigating disability. Her work has appeared in Prism, Truthout, Teen Vogue, City Bureau, Chicago Health Magazine, Windy City Times, Chicago Reader, and more.

In 2018, Michelle received the Saul Miller Excellence in Journalism Award, and in 2024, she was a finalist for the LA Press Club’s SoCal Journalism Award for Political Commentary. In recognition of her contributions to the LGBTQIA+ community, she was inducted into Chicago’s LGBT Hall of Fame in 2020.

You can follow Michelle’s work on Instagram and Bluesky.

Photo by Miguel Moya