Marisa Kwiatkowski is director of journalism at the Knight Foundation.

Before joining the organization in 2024, Kwiatkowski spent 20 years as a reporter, working for USA TODAY’s national investigative team and local outlets in Michigan, South Carolina and Indiana. Her work has spurred multiagency investigations, criminal charges, resignations and changes to federal law and state policy.

Kwiatkowski is best known for the investigative series she and her Indianapolis Star colleagues produced on USA Gymnastics and its handling of child sexual abuse allegations, including those against former team doctor Larry Nassar.

Throughout her career, Kwiatkowski has been active in the wider journalism community. She served in volunteer leadership positions with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She co-led Women Forward, a Gannett employee resource group of about 550 members. Kwiatkowski also served as a senior fellow with the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism’s Impact Fund for Health Equity and Health Systems. She has taught investigative techniques and mentored journalists throughout the country.

Kwiatkowski has earned more than 60 journalism awards, including IRE’s Tom Renner Award, the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism, the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award and a Sigma Delta Chi Award in public service journalism. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Grand Valley State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University.