Civil Beat Staff

Jessica Terrell

Jessica Terrell is the projects editor for Civil Beat.

Jessica joined Civil Beat in 2015, after reporting stints at the Orange County Register in California and Tribeca Trib in New York City.

She served as the lead reporter and then editor of Civil Beat’s Offshore Podcast, which launched in 2016. The podcast received 2020 and 2018 Eppy awards, as well as recognition from the Asian American Journalists Association, Best of the West, and Religion News Association.

Her 2015 series, “The Harbor,” about life in Hawaii’s largest homeless encampment, garnered a first place Online News Association award for small newsroom feature. The project also received an honorable mention from the Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism. She is a member of ONA’s 2018 Women’s Leadership Accelerator cohort.

As a reporter, Jessica has investigated everything from school safety concerns to faulty public works projects and military recruitment irregularities. She’s covered two national political conventions, and filed stories from the White House during President Barack Obama’s first summer in office.

Other memorable reporting assignments include camping out overnight in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park for a story on Occupy Wall Street, visiting the National Sept. 11 Memorial before it opened with members of Manhattan’s Community Board 1, and climbing 36 flights of stairs in the dark after Hurricane Sandy to find her editor and start reporting on the impacts of the storm in lower Manhattan.

Jessica spent much of her childhood traveling around North America. She wrote her first newspaper article at the age of 12 for a small paper in Massachusetts, where her family was living aboard a 50-foot raft built out of materials collected from New York City dumpsters.

When her family wasn’t building rafts, they were performing together in circuses and busking on the streets as a family jazz band. Spending her early years wandering from town to town imbued her with a passion for discovery that she tries to translate into work as a journalist.

The Lives We Lost: Thumper McCarthy Courtesy: Michael Lodato/2023

The Lives We Lost: Thumper McCarthy

The 74-year-old captain had lived in Lahaina since his 20s and was a well-known figure in town.

Lahaina Was Grappling With Rising Inequality Before The Fires Ludwig Laab/Civil Beat/2021

Lahaina Was Grappling With Rising Inequality Before The Fires

People in Lahaina were more likely to live in overcrowded homes and struggle with issues like language access.

The Lives We Lost: Joe Schilling Courtesy Corie Bluh/2023

The Lives We Lost: Joe Schilling

The 67 year-old Lahaina resident was "selfless" and "without convention."

The Lives We Lost: Douglas Matsuda-Boucher Screenshot/Facebook

The Lives We Lost: Douglas Matsuda-Boucher

The 65-year-old, who died in the Aug. 8 Lahaina fires, fell in love with Maui in the 1980s and was determined to make his home there.

Real Household Income In Hawaii Dropped Significantly In Last 3 Years Stewart Yerton/Civil Beat/2021

Real Household Income In Hawaii Dropped Significantly In Last 3 Years

High inflation and a slower economic recovery in the state slashed the real median household income in the state by about 9% -- twice the national average.

Hawaii Has A Long History Of High School Football Violence Screenshot/Newspapers.com

Hawaii Has A Long History Of High School Football Violence

The recent decision to cancel a Waianae-Castle match over safety concerns is just the latest chapter in a saga that goes back at least 60 years.

The Lives We Lost: Buddy Jantoc Courtesy: Keshia Alakai

The Lives We Lost: Buddy Jantoc

The Oahu-born musician was a devoted grandfather who played his last show the night before he died.

The Lives We Lost: Glenn Yoshino Courtesy:Scott Yoshino

The Lives We Lost: Glenn Yoshino

The 75-year-old grew up in a plantation village on the outskirts of Lahaina and had deep roots in West Maui.

Hawaii Has Been Facing A Housing Crisis For Generations screentshot/newspapers.com

Hawaii Has Been Facing A Housing Crisis For Generations

Politicians have been pledging to address a shortage of housing in the islands for decades, but the root causes of the crisis run deep.