Stefania Lugli | Reporter for The Journal

As The Journal‘s first-ever staff reporter, Stefania has a primary focus in covering homelessness issues in Wichita and the state of Kansas. Her reporting is done with the hope of reshaping the conversation around homelessness in the state. This work gears to promote more productive dialogue about the issue and contribute compassionate, evidence-based responses to the topic.

Stefania, a 2024 Advancing Democracy fellow, also develops engaging journalism in English and Spanish for Planeta Venus, a Spanish-language partner of The Journal. This initiative helps energize civic engagement by increasing access to trustworthy information in underserved communities and to provide a platform for them to tell their stories.

She returned to Wichita after reporting for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, a newspaper and USA TODAY/Gannett property in Sarasota, Florida. There, she wrote on a range of topics, including an investigation on how state laws fail to properly invest in mental health and how Southwest Florida renters fall victim to ambiguous contracts. She also took part in national USA TODAY coverage reporting on Hurricane Ian’s devastation as well as the overturn of Roe vs. Wade.

Prior to her Florida stint, Stefania worked as the inaugural watchdog reporter for The Wichita Beacon, a nonprofit newsroom in Wichita, The Boston Globe and the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a former criminal justice fellow for the National Press Foundation as well as a past data fellow for Investigative Reporters & Editors.

Stefania is a second-generation Venezuelan-American — a proud daughter and baby sister to Venezuelan immigrants. She grew up in Cape Coral, Florida and attended college in Boston. She is also a (very) proud mom to Kenji, her rescue dog. Stefania enjoys reading, Pilates, fun podcasts and shopping secondhand. For those interested, she frequently posts pictures of Kenji to her Twitter @steflugli.