Andrea Wise

Visual Strategy Editor

Andrea Wise is a Visual Strategy Editor responsible for ideating and commissioning photography, illustration, and other forms of visual journalism at ProPublica. She is also the co-founder of Diversify Photo, a global community working to amplify the voices of underrepresented groups in visual media.

Prior to joining ProPublica, Andrea was a contract photo editor on the history & culture desk at National Geographic and also worked with Newsweek, BuzzFeed News, The Intercept, and Open Society Foundations, among other publications. She has coached workshops at Syracuse University, The University of Oregon, and Western Kentucky University, as well as juried competitions for Getty Images, The Connecticut Art Directors Club, American Illustration - American Photography, and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Andrea earned her M.S. in Photography from Syracuse University and her B.A. in Studio Arts from Trinity College. She is an alum of the Eddie Adams, Kalish, and Mountain Workshops.

One of the Nation’s Largest Auto Lenders Told Customers, “We’re Here to Help.” Then It Took Their Money and Their Cars.

CarMax partner Exeter Finance makes high-interest loans to people with troubled financial histories. It allows borrowers to skip payments but often adds thousands of dollars in new charges — costs that customers say Exeter didn’t tell them about.

“I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network

Ravi Coutinho bought a health insurance plan thinking it would deliver on its promise of access to mental health providers. But even after 21 phone calls and multiple hospitalizations, no one could find him a therapist.

When Is “Recyclable” Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means.

Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills and incinerators.

Bedbugs, Rats and No Heat: How One Woman Endured a Decade of Neglect in New York’s Guardianship System

Judith Zbiegniewicz lived in squalor, yet every month, her legally appointed guardian was paid $450 from her bank account. She is one of the thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers left stranded by a system meant to protect them.

The Year After a Denied Abortion

Tennessee law prohibits women from having abortions in nearly all circumstances. But once the babies are here, the state provides little help. We followed one family as they struggled to make it.

“Someone Tell Me What to Do”

Across the country, states require more training to prepare students and teachers for mass shootings than for those expected to protect them. The differences were clear in Uvalde, where children and officers waited on opposite sides of the door.

Here’s What Can Happen When Kids Age Out of Foster Care

Two teens aged out of New Mexico’s child welfare system last year. This photo essay shows how different their lives have become.

The Inside Story of How the Navy Spent Billions on the “Little Crappy Ship”

Littoral combat ships were supposed to launch the Navy into the future. Instead they broke down across the globe and many of their weapons never worked. Now the Navy is getting rid of them. One is less than five years old.

In the Child’s Best Interest

As a contentious custody dispute drags on for years, both sides agree on one thing: The child at the center of it is being abused. Is his mother or father to blame?

The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses”

HomeVestors of America, the self-proclaimed “largest homebuyer in the U.S.,” trains its nearly 1,150 franchisees to zero in on homeowners’ desperation.

This Pharmacist Said Prisoners Wouldn’t Feel Pain During Lethal Injection. Then Some Shook and Gasped for Air.

A Florida pharmacist serves as an expert witness on behalf of states defending lethal injection protocols, often speaking about a drug that he has no authority to prescribe. His testimony has helped pave the way for executions across the country.

Doctors Warned Her Pregnancy Could Kill Her. Then Tennessee Outlawed Abortion.

A Tennessee mother wanted to end her high-risk pregnancy, but doctors feared prosecution.

They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars.

Tracing the fallacy of 911 call analysis through the justice system, from Quantico to the courtroom.

What Happened to Rezwan

When Kabul fell, Biden promised to rescue Afghan allies. For 14-year-old Rezwan Kohistani and his family, that meant being sent to a remote Missouri town where no other Afghans lived. “We’d been left alone,” said Rezwan’s father.

These Foster Kids Need Mental Health Care. New Mexico Is Putting Them in Homeless Shelters.

Youth crisis shelters aren’t set up to deal with foster youth who need intensive mental health treatment. When teens try to harm themselves or others, staff resort to calling 911.

“The Human Psyche Was Not Built for This”

How Republicans in Montana hijacked public health and brought a hospital to the brink

Lights Out: Profitable Utility Company Shut Off Electricity to Homes Hundreds of Thousands of Times

Three months into the pandemic, Michigan’s largest power company, DTE Energy, began ramping up power shut-offs for customers behind on their bills. A regulatory system built to prioritize investors, not affordability, let it happen.

St. Jude Hoards Billions While Many of Its Families Drain Their Savings

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital promises not to bill families. But the cost of having a child at the hospital for cancer care leaves some families so strapped for money that parents share tips on spending nights in the parking lot.

America’s Food Safety System Failed to Stop a Salmonella Epidemic. It’s Still Making People Sick.

For years, a dangerous salmonella strain has sickened thousands and continues to spread through the chicken industry. The USDA knows about it. So do the companies. And yet, contaminated meat continues to be sold to consumers.

“The Liberty Way”: How Liberty University Discourages and Dismisses Students’ Reports of Sexual Assaults

The school founded by evangelist Jerry Falwell ignored reports of rape and threatened to punish accusers for breaking its moral code, say former students. An official who says he was fired for raising concerns calls it a “conspiracy of silence.”

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