Sonali Kohli has reported on education and breaking news for the Los Angeles Times since 2015. Her stories include an award-winning series on high schools in L.A. surrounded by homicide, coverage of the Los Angeles teachers strike and reporting on mass shootings and deadly fires in the state. A product of Southern California, she grew up in Diamond Bar.
As a member of the Education Writers Association she has shared expertise on reporting about trauma and self-care in journalism, and has served on the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. Before joining the LA Times five years ago, she worked as a metro reporter for the Orange County Register and as a reporter covering education and diversity for Quartz.
A graduate of UCLA, Kohli will spend her Spencer Fellowship year working on a young adult nonfiction book about teen activism in the past and present.