Waliya Lari
AAJA
Waliya is an award winning news producer who spent the last two decades as a leader in newsrooms of all sizes in various parts of the country. Most recently serving as the Director of Programs and Partnerships for the Asian American Journalists Association, she has a keen interest in developing strong journalists, improving newsroom norms and evolving news coverage to be more contextual, inclusive and accessible. All this is rooted in Waliya’s core belief that engaging journalism is the best way to empower and educate the public. She presents at conferences about how newsrooms and communities can work together to improve news coverage of marginalized people and issues. Waliya graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and is an alumna of numerous journalism programs including RIAS German/American Fellowship, Loyola’s Journalism Law School, AAJA’s Executive Leadership Program and the Poynter Institute. She lives in Austin with her husband and three children and documents her love of exploring, cooking, dining and enjoying life in general on Instagram @_WallysWorld.
