Noelle Fujii-Oride is a Kaua‘i reporter for Civil Beat. Kaua‘i became her home at the end of 2019 and is where she developed her love for community-centered journalism. Her goal is to tell stories that reflect the lived experiences of the people who know Kaua‘i best, honor the history and culture that shape it, and reflect the relationships and responsibilities that hold this community together. She believes that local journalism is built on relationships, so she invests in getting to know the people and places she covers and approaching each story with the care it deserves.

Originally from the Bay Area, Noelle is a 2016 graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s journalism program and interned at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Honolulu Civil Beat and Hawaii Business Magazine. After graduating, she spent seven years at Hawaii Business Magazine covering affordable housing, cost of living, private equity-owned hotels and apartments, education and tourism. She then went on to establish an online, solutions journalism-focused newsroom called Overstory and led a statewide community listening project to shape its editorial priorities.

A member of the Asian American Journalists Association, Noelle is dedicated to advancing diversity in newsrooms and ensuring fair and accurate coverage of communities of color. She is a graduate of AAJA’s Executive Leadership Program and a board member of AAJA’s Hawai‘i chapter. In her spare time, she teaches keiki how to ride horses at Healing Horses Kaua‘i.

Feel free to contact her at nfujiioride@civilbeat.org.