Heather Vogell
I cover commercial space companies and the federal agencies that work with and regulate them, like the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA.
Have a Tip for a Story?
I’m interested in hearing from former and current employees of rocket companies like SpaceX and other space-related businesses. I’d also like to hear from staffers at the FAA and NASA. What’s changing as we move into a new administration?
What I Cover
I’m covering the commercial space industry and its billionaire leaders, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. I’m interested in how companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin do business, and how federal agencies like NASA and the FAA regulate them.
My Background
I focus on the nexus of politics and business. Last year, my stories showed how U.S. trade officials worked on behalf of the baby formula industry to thwart other countries’ efforts to regulate it. Before that, I investigated how landlords were sharing data and using a common algorithm to set rents — potentially in violation of laws against price fixing.
I’ve also written about President Donald Trump’s business entanglements and collaborated with WNYC reporters on the podcast “Trump, Inc.” My 2019 stories were the first to chronicle discrepancies between what the Trump Organization told New York City property tax officials and what it reported on loan documents.
Previously, at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, my work on test cheating in the public school system resulted in the indictments of a school district superintendent and 34 others.
My work has been a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting and the Gerald Loeb Awards for business and financial journalism; it has also won the Hillman Prize, Sigma Delta Chi Awards and others.
Methodology: How We Analyzed Alternative Schools Data
Using federal and local data, ProPublica examined how some alternative schools shortchange students and at times become a silent release valve for schools straining under the pressure of accountability reform.
Camera Catches Shoving Match with Group Home Worker Before Teenager’s Heart Stopped
A video shows a healthy 15-year-old going into her bedroom at a for-profit AdvoServ facility. Thirty-two minutes later, she had no pulse. Nobody’s saying what happened.
Maryland’s Move to Pull Children From Group Homes Came Too Late for Teenager Who Died
After unannounced inspections revealed deficiencies, Maryland stopped placing young people at Delaware facilities owned by AdvoServ.
Teenage Girl Dies After Incident at For-profit Group Home
The 15-year-old was a resident at a Delaware facility owned by AdvoServ, which has faced decades of reports of abuse.
Florida Cracks Down on Troubled For-profit Facility for the Disabled
After years of reports of abusive treatment, Florida is moving residents out of Carlton Palms.
FDA to Massachusetts Group Home: Stop Shocking Disabled Residents
The government questions whether The Judge Rotenberg Center has been straight with families about the risks of its electrical shock devices and alternative treatments.
