Benita Mathew is an award-winning storyteller and journalist. She currently covers health and government for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She previously covered K-12 schools for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. She also has bylines at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WisPolitics.com, and Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Benita served as an editor at Biculturally, a platform built to support and share stories highlighting people’s bicultural identities.

Her work led to two new laws in Wisconsin that banned strip searching in schools and gave residents more time to transfer senior care facilities. Her work was awarded by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

She grew up in Chicago, Illinois and studied journalism, strategic communications, and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Benita has a passion for storytelling and connection. She loves writing and the power it carries to build space, understanding, and community.