Amanda Riddle, co-managing editor
 Sept. 2003 – present
ariddle(at)layouth(dot)com

Duties

-EDITORIAL: As Foster Youth Editor, I head a project to publish articles written by youth in the foster care system. I help the foster youth develop ideas, and I work closely with them to edit and make changes to their stories. The editing process is often emotional as we explore their feelings and what they’ve learned from difficult experiences. They may write about what it’s like to be in the system, relationships with their biological and foster families, or preparing for life after they emancipate. Click here to learn more about the program.

-OUTREACH: I visit foster agencies, group homes and schools to promote the foster youth writing project and recruit new writers. I explain the benefits and importance of publishing their personal stories in L.A. Youth, which reaches 350,000 teen readers. They learn that their articles educate our readers and reduce the stigma of foster care and other issues such as mental illness, and inform the public and policymakers about the issues facing youth in care.

-HONORS: 2009, Named Foster Care Hero by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

Before coming to L.A. Youth, I worked for five years at The Associated Press. I started as a clerk in Phoenix, and then worked as a reporter in southeast Florida. I was fortunate to work on several big stories while there, including the Elian Gonzalez custody battle in Miami and the anthrax letter attack that killed a tabloid photo editor in Palm Beach County, Fla.

I grew up in Las Vegas and graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson with a journalism degree in 1997. In my spare time, I play rugby with a women’s team in Long Beach.