Kari Lydersen

Immigration, Latin America, globalization and free trade, environmental issues and environmental racism, human trafficking, the sex industry, civil liberties, media analysis and criminal justice issues are among my specialties as a reporter, author and speaker. I aim to highlight the connections between these issues and put a “human face” on policy and economic debates. I love sharing my experiences and observations as a writer and as a speaker, panelist and youth journalism instructor. Thanks for visiting my website, I look forward to hearing from anyone about other media and community projects and welcome all story ideas, speaking opportunities or ideas for collaboration.

My skills and services

Reporter: For The Washington Post, People magazine, The Progressive, OnEarth, In These Times, Punk Planet, Bitch and other media outlets, my reporting has taken me around Latin America and the US, including in-depth reporting in various parts of Mexico, Central and South America, the US-Mexico border region and various urban areas in the US, especially in my home Chicago.

Author:

Revolt on Goose Island: The Chicago Factory Takeover and What it Says About the Economic Crisis (Melville House, 2009)

Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun (City Lights, 2008)

Out of the Sea and Into the Fire: Latin American-US Immigration in the Global Age (Common Courage , 2005)

Speaker: I have spoken at various universities, media conferences and seminars about topics including immigration, globalization, human trafficking and independent media.

College and Youth Instructor: I teach journalism at Columbia College Chicago; and through the Urban Youth International Journalism Program I teach ongoing journalism workshops in Chicago high schools, alternative schools, public housing projects and after school programs. My goal: help young reporters develop professional journalism skills and expand their horizons while cultivating and expressing their own unique voice.

Photographer: Photos regularly published in The Washington Post and other media