Megan O’Matz

Reporter

Photo of Megan O’Matz

Megan O’Matz is a reporter at ProPublica, where she covers issues out of Wisconsin.

O’Matz comes to ProPublica from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, where she worked for two decades. She was a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for stories on widespread fraud in federal disaster aid programs. She also shared in the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service for reporting on the Parkland school shooting. O’Matz has worked for the Chicago Tribune, the Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the Pittsburgh Press.

She’s a graduate of Penn State University.

She Said Her Husband Was Abusive. A Judge Took Away Her Kids and Ordered Her Arrest.

The judge in Julie Valadez’s custody case found her disruptive, questioned her credibility and put out a warrant for her arrest. A rare appellate victory is now giving her case a fresh look, but Valadez still is fighting for her four children.

He Beat Her Repeatedly. Family Court Tried to Give Him Joint Custody of Their Children.

Wisconsin is considered a leader in the movement to treat fathers as equal caregivers when parents separate. Shared parenting is usually better for children — but the model fails for many women forced to co-parent with their abusers.

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