headshot photograph of a brunette woman with red shirt in front of a tree

Lorena is a Paraguayan-American journalist who writes narrative features, in-depth profiles, and investigative news stories on politics, culture, health, and tech.

She lives in New Orleans and is a contributing writer for Rolling Stone, with bylines in publications like The Los Angeles Times, Elle, The Atlantic and The Guardian. Her work has been featured on Dateline, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, NPR, and CNN.

Lorena won a national Edward R. Murrow award in 2025 for her continued coverage of maternal health in Louisiana for The Louisiana Illuminator and the Pulitzer Center. Her first story for the StoryReach Fellowship broke the news that misoprostol was being pulled off postpartum hemorrhage carts across the state, following a law reclassifying the drug as a controlled substance. Additionally, her investigative profile of Luigi Mangione in Rolling Stone won a NY Newswomen’s Club Front Page Award in specialized reporting for crime and justice. She was also selected as STAR’s Champion of Change “Exemplary Journalist” in 2024 for her ongoing coverage of sexual violence in Louisiana.

Lorena is a Louisiana board member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Pennsylvania.

You can reach her for tips, freelance assignments, consulting, TV appearances or speaking engagements at lorenaoneil.reporting@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok.

Features

  • Photo of Nolan Wells with a basketball

    Inside the Desperate Search for Nolan Wells

  • Photo of Luigi Mangione in orange jumpsuit surrounded by law enforcement officers

    The Life and Mystery of Luigi Mangione

  • illustration of students writing the Ten Commandments on their school desks

    Inside the Classrooms at the Center of the Church-State Battle

  • Fake Photos, Real Harm: AOC and the Fight Against AI Porn

  • Photo of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry

    Governor Jeff Landry's Crusade to Tear Down the Wall Between Church and State

  • These Women Tried to Warn Us About AI

  • Doctors Worry as Lifesaving Drug Pulled Off Hemorrhage Carts

  • Photo of a woman walking through floodwaters in Houston, taken from behind her

    An Undocumented Woman's Journey to Survive a Hurricane

  • Anna Kendrick Opens Up About Her Emotionally Abusive Relationship

  • They loved the Mormon church. They loved each other more.

  • How 'Queen Sugar' Transformed the New Orleans Film Industry

Words published in:

The Los Angeles Times

The Atlantic

Esquire

NPR

The Hollywood Reporter

Jezebel

The Guardian

Rolling Stone

Marie Claire

Billboard

Elle

InStyle

USA Today

CNN

The Louisiana Illuminator

Argentina’s Clarin

Paraguay’s ABC Color

The Times-Picayune

Tablet Magazine

Religion News Service

America Magazine

Ozy

Photography published in:

Marie Claire

Rolling Stone

The Atlantic

Esquire

The Hollywood Reporter

Billboard

PBS

The Times-Picayune

The Arizona Republic