Francine Orr has been a staff photojournalist for the Los Angeles Times since 2000. Previously, she was a staff photographer at the Kansas City Star. Orr served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. While there, she learned how to be a quiet observer and gained a love for stories. She was raised in Colorado and earned bachelor’s degrees in both history and art from the University of Saint Mary. Orr has focused on public health and poverty issues in Africa, India and the United States. In Los Angeles, she has concentrated on the growing homeless crisis since 2005. Focusing on the impact of the coronavirus, she has reported inside 14 hospitals throughout the pandemic. In 2022, Orr received the coveted Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma and the National Headliner Award. She also won the 2020 Meyer “Mike” Berger for an outstanding example of in-depth, human interest reporting from Columbia Journalism School and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in feature photography in 2012. Other awards include the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Center for Public Integrity’s Daniel Pearl Award, Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service, Harry Chapin Award, Sidney Hillman Award as well as honors from Pictures of the Year International, the National Press Photographers Assn. and the Los Angeles Press Club.
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