Communities Editor

A reading addict, a news junkie. Call it what you will, but few things are better than getting pulled into a great read. As the communities editor, I'm fluent in Spanish and will focus on news about Tampa Bay’s Latinos and other diverse populations as well as health and the area’s aging. A suburban Chicago native with 22-plus years in “the ‘biz,” my reporting and editing background is in breaking news, immigration, and local government. I earned degrees from Harper College, Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois Springfield. I’ve worked in New Mexico, Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia and Texas – in that order. When I’m not reading or editing, I also love swimming, hiking, bicycling, traveling and thrifting – not necessarily in that order.

• verngonzo
• vgonzalez@tampabay.com