Carmen Valencia is an Emmy Award-winning multimedia journalist.

Born in Nogales, Arizona and raised in Tucson, Carmen is the proud daughter of hardworking immigrant parents from Mexico. Growing up on the border shaped Carmen’s passion for telling stories about social justice, politics, and immigrant communities.

Before joining the Spectrum News team, Carmen reported at KYMA/Telemundo 3 in Yuma, Arizona, where she won an Associated Press Award and a Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for her reporting.

One of the most powerful stories Carmen had the opportunity to tell was about a 10-year-old Guatemalan girl named Sheyla Castillo. Sheyla and her mother traveled to the border, where she was granted asylum in the U.S. after a year and six court cases. Sheyla moved to Virginia, reunited with her extended family, started school, learned English, and even joined the soccer team. But she was deported and her dreams were cut short. This story opened Carmen’s eyes to the broken immigration system, and it keeps Carmen going. 

Carmen is a longtime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and proud to be a part of the local Los Angeles chapter. In addition to reporting, she works as an adjunct professor in broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California. 

Carmen loves adventures and trying new things. When she’s not working, you can find her traveling, hiking, hanging with her dog Flor, and searching for new coffee shops.

If you’d like to reach Carmen, you can find her on Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.