Donna Jackel is a working journalist specializing in mental health, animal welfare and social justice.
What qualities make Donna stand out in her field? It's her determination to find the most reliable, articulate sources, the latest research and eye-catching art (she has working relationships with talented photojournalists.) Donna eschews shortcuts and wrestles with every sentence to create an absorbing narrative. She asks subjects out-of-the box questions to satisfy her own curiosity--and that of her readers. And after 30 years in journalism, Donna still loves her work. Donna can tackle any topic—raw food diets, senior housing developments, nonprofit reports and grants. But her passion is uncovering social injustice. Donna's work has appeared in: Texas Highways, Civil Eats, bp Magazine, The Progressive, CityLab, BBC Travel, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Lilith, The Chicago Tribune, Yes! Magazine and other national and regional publications. Last year, editors at Narratively selected as their top story of 2019 Donna's year-long project about a Rochester, NY, man who was shot multiple times by a police officer and then charged with attempted murder of that officer. In 2019, she received an award for health writing from the American Society of Journalists & Authors for an article about transgender college students denied gender-related health care.
Some of her favorite assignments:
A Hollywood film editor who gives photos to the poorest in Kolkata;
A single mom who waged a four-year fight to get her daughter’s service dog allowed in school;
People with bipolar disorder who generously shared how they learned to accept their diagnoses;
A family guy who delivers free doghouses to the poor so their pets won’t freeze to death;
College students with mental illness organizing to demand school administrators provide them the services they need to succeed, paving the way for those who come after.
Hundred of horses roam free at Black Beauty Ranch animal sanctuary in Murchison, TX. Founded in 1979 by Cleveland Amory, the sanctuary is home to 40 species of neglected and homeless animals.
Children in Kolkata delight in seeing their photos for the first time.
Jessenia Edgeston wasn’t feeling well the night Feb. 22, 2017, so she sent her husband, Ronnie, out for ginger ale and Pepto Bismol. “He left at 9 p.m. and never came back,” she says.
Did you know that on any given day, about 1,000 men and women reside in Monroe County jails awaiting trial? And 46 percent of them were arrested on misdemeanor charges.
I’ve been writing for magazines, newspapers and nonprofits for 30 years. But this blog, like my website, is brand new. Here, I will be free to write whatever I want about animal welfare, health care, disability rights and social justice.
