Kelsey Turner

What I Cover
I cover gender-based violence and other issues relating to poverty and marginalized communities in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve published several investigations on human trafficking in the region, and I’m always seeking a deeper understanding of how sexual and domestic violence is approached within our criminal justice system.

My Background
I grew up in a small town in New Jersey and have slowly moved my way across the country to the Pacific Northwest. (Yes, my family lives on the Jersey Shore. No, not that Jersey Shore.)

I graduated from Brown University right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with a degree in international relations and a general sense of uncertainty regarding where to go next. After finishing my undergraduate honors thesis on violence against Indigenous Mapuche women in Chile, I quickly realized that academic writing wasn’t for me. I wanted to keep investigating the impacts of gender-based violence, but in a way that felt more connected and accessible to the communities that I was writing about. Enter journalism!

I completed a master’s program in investigative journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Chicago, and began my career covering homelessness for The Columbian in Vancouver, Washington. I joined InvestigateWest in 2023. Since then, my reporting on sex trafficking, homelessness, and domestic and sexual violence in the Pacific Northwest has won several awards.

This is where I would write about my pets, if I had any pets. I do, however, have an identical twin. So that’s pretty cool.

Ethics and Approach
One of my top reasons for becoming a journalist is to help people who haven’t historically been given a voice in the media to feel heard. I carry out that goal through rigorous reporting, ensuring that every personal story is backed up by documentation and every perspective is sought out.

A big part of reporting on gender-based violence is interviewing people about some of the lowest, most painful moments in their lives. As a former collegiate cross country and track runner, I’ve always been hyper aware of conversations around body autonomy, especially as it relates to women’s bodies in traditionally male-dominated spaces. I aim to bring that sensitivity into my work at InvestigateWest.

Through all of our coverage on wrongdoing and exploitation in the Pacific Northwest, it’s the resilience and courage of survivors that sticks with me most. Those are the stories that I carry with me.

Contact Me
Reach me by email or on social media.

Email: kelsey@investigatewest.org
Phone: 503-893-2501
X: @kelseyT98
Facebook: Kelsey Turner
LinkedIn: Kelsey Turner