Mariam Elba

I work with local teams at ProPublica and with our partners in the Local Reporting Network.

Need to Get in Touch?

What I Cover

I work with local teams at ProPublica and with our partners in the Local Reporting Network.

My Background

My collaborative research with various teams has won numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2025 for the “Life of the Mother” series. I was also a co-finalist for the 2024 Livingston Award for excellence in local reporting and an Investigative Reporters and Editors award finalist in 2023 for my collaboration with WPLN in Nashville, Tennessee, on domestic violence gun homicides.

Before coming to ProPublica in 2021, I was an associate research editor and fact-checker at The Intercept.

Are Abortion Bans Across America Causing Deaths? The States That Passed Them Are Doing Little to Find Out.

The same political leaders who enacted abortion bans oversee the state committees that review maternal deaths. These committees haven’t tracked the laws’ impacts, and most haven’t finished examining cases from the year the bans went into effect.

December 18, 2024, 5:00 am EST
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime

Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arrested in a Chicago raid are telling their stories.

November 13, 2025, 5:00 am EST
She Begged for Help. This State’s Probation Gap May Have Put Her in Danger.

Tennessee probation officers pause in-person visits and home searches for offenders facing an arrest warrant. That reduced supervision can last for months. Temptress Peebles was one of six mothers who died during this gap.

November 11, 2025, 5:00 am EST