Pamela’s lifelong love for journalism was sparked when she learned to use a hot-metal typesetting machine in a printing class at Berkeley High. She majored in journalism while her sister studied mass communications and brother received his degree in radio and TV. The siblings sometimes joked that, with their combined knowledge, the three of them could have started a mini media empire. But while her siblings eventually took other career paths, Pamela stayed in journalism.

Before joining Cityside in April 2021, Pamela was a longtime editor at the Bay Area News Group. Her roles there included night city editor and managing editor for the Oakland Tribune and senior editor for the East Bay Times and The Mercury News. She was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for the East Bay Times’ coverage of the devastating Ghost Ship fire in 2017.

Throughout his career, Jacob has been motivated by a mission to work with groups whose experiences are often overlooked and misrepresented in the media.

Before he joined The Oaklandside in April 2020, Jacob worked at Univision, the largest provider of Spanish-language content in the U.S. He led social-impact initiatives and established the Rise Up: Be Heard journalism training program for young people and community organizers in underserved areas of California. Jacob was also a senior editor and director of youth and community media at New America Media, where he ran a community news network that amplified student and youth reporting in California news deserts.