Welcome. Bienvenidos. Bem-vindo. Zoo siab txais tos. Savāgata hai.
We are The Merced FOCUS, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom covering Merced and the San Joaquin Valley.
Our goal is to shine a light on issues in our community. Whether it’s education, politics or culture, our journalists take a comprehensive look at the topics and people making news.
The Merced FOCUS News Team:
Brianna Vaccari, editor of The Merced FOCUS
Brianna Vaccari is editor of The Merced Focus and an investigative journalist working to hold leaders accountable and shine a light on issues affecting her neighbors in communities across California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Vaccari was born and raised in Reedley, a small Fresno County farm town nestled between the Kings River and the Sierra Nevada. Her family’s roots tell a familiar Valley story. Her father is a first-generation American, and her mother’s family relocated to the Valley during the Dust Bowl.
Vaccari earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Fresno State. Since then, she’s worked for various Valley-based news outlets. She has won a number of California News Publishers Association and Gruner awards.
When she’s not chasing a story, Vaccari can be found visiting loved ones up and down the Valley and adventuring throughout the Golden State with her two rambunctious dogs.
Rachel Livinal, Higher Education Reporter
Rachel Livinal reports on higher education for KVPR through a partnership with the The Merced FOCUS news team. Livinal grew up in Merced and started to produce podcasts and audio stories when she was 16 for her school newspaper at El Capital High and local non-profit We’Ced Youth Media.
After attending Merced College and California State University of Long Beach, she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in sociology. While attending CSU Long Beach, Livinal worked as an production director and podcast editor for the university’s radio station and student-run magazine.
Livinal has been a fellow of NPR’s Next Gen Radio and her work has received several awards including a Mark of Excellence award from the Society of Professional Journalists for Best Conversational Podcast.
She is excited to share the stories that are shaping the higher education landscape in the San Joaquin Valley.
Elizabeth Wilson, Public Safety Reporter
Elizabeth Wilson is a journalist passionate about covering how changing policies and systems affect local communities. Wilson briefly lived in St. Louis, Missouri and Roseville, California, before moving to San Francisco, which she considers to be home.
Wilson studied journalism at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. For three years, she reported on campus safety and sexual assault at the student-run newspaper, Mustang News. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California Chapter, who awarded her the 2025 James Madison Freedom of Information Award.
Wilson is a 2025-2027 California Local News Fellow through the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She previously wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle, CalMatters and San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Christian De Jesus Betancourt, Bilingual Community Issues Reporter
As the Bilingual Community Issues Reporter, Christian De Jesus Betancourt is dedicated to illuminating the vibrant stories of the Latino Community of Merced. His journey is deeply rooted in the experiences of migration and the pursuit of a better life.
Born and raised in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Betancourt’s family embarked on a journey to El Paso, Texas, where he has called home since the seventh grade. His educational journey began in the Mexican system, and he later earned his journalism degree from El Paso Community College.
Betancourt’s story mirrors that of many migrant parents who seek opportunities beyond their hometowns. Balancing two languages and navigating the intersection of his roots and a new life, he worked as a Teppanyaki chef to fund his college education. It was during a curriculum-required journalism class that he fell in love with the power of storytelling.
Betancourt’s journalism career has taken him from covering crime for publications like the Hobbs News-Sun and The Lovington Leader to deep-dive investigations for the Duncan Banner. After freelancing for four years, primarily in nightlife photography in Las Vegas, he returned to journalism at the Temple Daily Telegram. He was part of the team honored with the Headliners Foundation Star Breaking News Awards in Texas for their coverage of tornados that impacted Salado.
Betancourt’s commitment to impactful journalism led him to a solution-based journalism fellowship with Next City. As a finalist for the Institute of Nonprofit News Insight Award for Explanatory Journalism, he collaborated with Next City’s Senior Economic Justice Reporter, Oscar Perry Abello, exploring how credit unions serve people of color.
Passionate about showcasing the stories often left behind, Betancourt is excited to use his skills to cover the unreported narratives of the Latino Community of Merced. Beyond the headlines, his goal is to amplify voices and shed light on issues that matter.
When he’s not interviewing the gente of Merced, you can find Betancourt exploring the diverse communities and attractions around him, enjoying board games, and gaming with friends.
Alma Villegas, Housing Reporter
Alma Villegas is a bilingual journalist from Los Angeles, covering English and Spanish news stories across California.
Villegas’ work has been featured on Golden Gate Xpress, El Tecolote, CALÓ News and the Merced Sun-Star. In 2017, they launched the project Sur Central Times, a bilingual news blog about South Central Los Angeles.
Villegas studied journalism at San Francisco State University and believes that community news empowers marginalized communities.
As a Merced transplant, Villegas is committed to accurately and fairly representing the voices of Central Valley residents by reporting on the agencies they are governed by, plus the issues and stories that impact and celebrate them.
Alma’s work is supported through the California Local News Fellowship program.