Kara Newhouse

Kara Newhouse, a 2022 Merrill College master’s graduate, became deputy data editor at the University of Maryland's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism in January 2026.

She has 15 years of journalism and storytelling experience. Most recently, she was an investigative data reporter at a news startup in Florida, where she reported on immigration enforcement and powerful real estate developers. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter, podcast producer and editor at KQED.  

As a Merrill College student and Howard fellow, Newhouse was a data team leader and lead writer on multiple investigations. While working at LNP/LancasterOnline, her hometown paper in Pennsylvania, her investigation of a wealthy school district led to board member resignations, a more transparent superintendent search and the restoration of elementary art and music classes. It also won multiple state journalism awards.

Newhouse has covered civil resistance movements abroad and taught digital storytelling in multiple countries. She is the author of “The Story of Everything: The Story of You!,” a children’s book about deep time.