Fresnoland staff
Danielle Bergstrom, Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief
Danielle Bergstrom is a journalist and the founder of Fresnoland, an award-winning nonprofit investigative and explanatory news organization covering Fresno and Madera County, which launched in 2020. Her reporting has focused on the intersection of housing, water, development, and inequality. Danielle was a 2023 Knight Fellow in Poynter’s Media Transformation Challenge and a 2021 California Journalism Fellow with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. Prior to becoming a journalist, Danielle worked for over a decade as a city planner, holding roles at the City of Fresno, Office of the Mayor, Central Valley Community Foundation, Oakland-based PolicyLink, and the City of Fresno’s Planning Division. She has a Masters’ Degree in Regional Planning from Cornell University and a Bachelors’ Degree in Biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Twitter/X: @danibergstrom / Email: danielle@fresnoland.org
Rob Parsons, Senior Editor
Rob Parsons is the senior editor for Fresnoland. Prior to joining Fresnoland in 2023, he was an Editor at The Fresno Bee. Throughout his nearly 20 year journalism career, Rob has held editing and reporting roles at the Merced Sun-Star, The Appeal-Democrat in Yuba City, and the Colusa Sun-Herald.
Email: rob@fresnoland.org
Isabel Santos-Gonzalez, Director of Operations
Isabel Santos-Gonzalez is Fresnoland’s director of operations. She joined the organization in 2022 as it was preparing to launch as an independent publisher. She started her career at the civic tech startup SeeClickFix and has since spent nearly a decade working across community engagement, marketing, customer success, and operations at small startups and nonprofit organizations. At Fresnoland, she leads internal operations, reader revenue, events, and social media strategy. She is a graduate of Yale University and a proud Fresno native.
Email: isabel@fresnoland.org
Omar Shaikh Rashad, Government Accountability Reporter
Omar Shaikh Rashad joined Fresnoland in 2022 as a government accountability reporter, covering Fresno City Hall and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Omar was a 2023 California Journalism Fellow for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. He has previously held roles at CalMatters, The Seattle Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and Mustang News at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Twitter/X: @omarsrashad / Email: omar@fresnoland.org
Gregory Weaver, Environment Reporter
Gregory Weaver joined Fresnoland in 2022 as an environment reporter, covering the environmental impacts of land use and transportation decisions, in addition to covering air quality. He is a graduate of Stanford University and a Fresno native.
Email: gregory@fresnoland.org
Julianna Morano, Labor and Economy Reporter
Julianna Morano joined Fresnoland in 2023 as a labor and economy reporter, covering everything from unions, to small business concerns, to economic development initiatives and the arts economy. Prior to joining Fresnoland, Julianna held reporting roles at The Fresno Bee, The Virginian-Pilot and The Dallas Morning News. Julianna is originally from the Midwest and is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Twitter/X: @julianna_morano / Email: julianna@fresnoland.org
Pablo Orihuela, Housing Reporter, California Local News Fellow
Pablo Orihuela joined Fresnoland in 2023 as a California Local News Fellow covering the region’s affordable housing crisis, and what can be done to fix it. Pablo is a graduate of Cal State University, Northridge.
Email: pablo@fresnoland.org
Gisselle Medina, Religion and Culture Reporter
Gisselle Medina joined Fresnoland as a Report for America corps member covering religion and culture in 2024. Medina received a master’s degree in journalism, with concentrations in investigative reporting and multimedia, from UC Berkeley, where they also studied English as an undergraduate. Originally from Los Angeles, Medina lived in Fresno for 10 years, where they cultivated a passion for helping people while residing in a room and board facility and uncovering the disparities faced by the residents. Outside of work, Medina loves to spend time with loved ones, play board games, dance, travel to new places, and read poetry.
Twitter/X: @gisselleemedina / Email: gisselle@fresnoland.org
Diego Vargas, Education Reporter
Diego Vargas is a 2025 Report for America corps member and serves as an education equity reporter, covering local schools and issues faced by low-income and immigrant students. He joined Fresnoland in 2023 as a general assignment student writer. Diego is a Fresno State graduate and previously held editorial roles at the school’s student newspaper, The Collegian.
Email: diego@fresnoland.org
Contributors
Von Balanon
Von is an experienced graphic designer in the Fresno area. They are also a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
