During her time at the Houston Chronicle as a staff photojournalist, Marie D. De Jesús has developed deep relationships with diverse immigrant groups and told nuanced stories, produced in-depth reporting projects focused on marginalized communities, led coverage of the U.S.-Mexico border, and partnered on an investigation of the Texas Education Agency that inspired federal action. She was part of a reporting team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for “Denied,” a six-month investigative series that uncovered systematic denial of special education services to schoolchildren in Texas. Marie has spent the last three years volunteering as NPPA's national secretary and is also co-chair of NPPA's Mentorship Program. She is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and is the primary human of a feisty Miniature Schnauzer called Kodak.