Natalie Pate

About

Natalie is a watchdog and investigative reporter based in Salem, Oregon. She is the newest K-12 education reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).Natalie covered education for the Statesman Journal, a daily newspaper in Salem, for more than seven years. She was also the co-founder and lead of the Salem Storytellers Project. Natalie was an Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) fellow in 2021 and was an IRE mentor for three years. She is also a member of the Education Writers Association (EWA). Natalie was named an EWA Reporting Fellow in 2022, publishing an in-depth series that summer on the importance and lack of literacy education for adults in U.S. prisons. She presented her findings at the World Literacy Summit at Oxford in the spring of 2023.Natalie is passionate about using her writing to make a positive impact. She produces articles that combine illuminating data with individuals' stories to give readers a deep, accessible look at today's most pressing issues. She is also the author of the bilingual picture book "Bandito the Puppito Dreams of a Home/Bandito el Perrito Sueña con un Hogar," which donates 100% of the profits to dog rescue efforts in Oregon.Natalie was the host and producer of the limited-series podcast "On the Outside" in 2023, which shares the stories of youth with incarcerated parents. She is also the professional journalism consultant for The Collegian, Willamette University's independent student newspaper since 1889.