I grew up in Lexington, Ky., and went to journalism school at Ernie Pyle Hall at Indiana University at Bloomington. My articles, essays, and commentary show that the range of what I write about is extremely wide. One of my themes seems to be writing about situations where there is something great at stake. Also, I consistently strive to immerse myself in unreported worlds.

Leslie Guttman

My stories have ranged from a profile of a band of day laborers to a personal essay about what is required to become a salsa princess in San Francisco and Havana. I’ve written about politics, the environment, ordinary heroes, and children trying to overcome their circumstances in the most dangerous neighborhoods of California.

In college, one of my first reporting experiences was going up in a biplane that an Indiana resident had built in his basement on the weekends. That thrilling feeling of journalism being a passport to discovering new vistas has never left me. (And yes, I did get to wear an old leather aviator cap and goggles like Snoopy!)

Awards and things like that include being recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists for outstanding journalism and a Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. I’ve also worked  at Wired magazine, and my public radio commentary has been broadcast on KQED-FM in San Francisco and nationally on Marketplace.