Janelle O'dea
Investigative Reporter
Missouri, United States
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolJanelle O'dea is an investigative data reporter with 11 years of experience turning public records and large datasets into accountability journalism across local and regional newsrooms. Currently covering southern Illinois and the Metro East for the Illinois Answers Project, she has built searchable public databases, automated records processes, and trained journalists in data-driven reporting at outlets ranging from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to the Center for Public Integrity. Her reporting has produced tangible civic impact—prompting municipal changes and sustained drops in complaints—while also equipping other reporters with tools and workflows to keep digging. Comfortable explaining complex issues to nontechnical audiences, she blends journalism and informatics training to surface stories about marginalized communities and local government performance.
11 years of coding experience
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignAssociate of Science (A.S.), Social Sciences, Associate of Science (A.S.), Social Sciences at Parkland College
Github Skills (7)
cut5
dispatch4
journalism3
npr2
data-journalism1
openxml1
census1
Programming languages (4)
Github contributions (5)
PostDispatchInteractive/parks
May 2019 - Aug 2019
This repo has data and code for the May 4 (online) and May 5, 2019 (print) St. Louis Post-Dispatch story "With fewer park employees than there are parks in St. Louis, corners get cut".
Contributions:18 commits, 3 pushes in 3 months
dispatchparksst-louiscutpark
PostDispatchInteractive/trash-update
Dec 2020 - Jun 2022
Contributions:3 pushes in 1 year 6 months
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