Jessica Koscielniak is an award-winning visual journalist and leader based in Washington, DC. Currently, she is a Senior Video Producer for Breaking News and Enterprise on the National and Local desks at The Washington Post. She is currently serving as President of the White House News Photographer Association.
Prior to that, Senior Producer and Staff Photographer at USA Today, where she covered the War in Ukraine, military suicide, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She worked on the National High-Impact Video Team at McClatchy where she pitched, developed, produced and edited in-depth documentary-style packages and series. In 2012, she worked as a multimedia journalist at Chicago Sun-Times, where her work focused on documenting the gun violence epidemic in Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods.
Koscielniak originates from Northwest Indiana and has always had a passion for covering news and issue-related stories in her backyard.
Most recently her work has been recognized by Photography of the Year International, Best of Photojournalism, Lone Star Regional EMMYs, RTDNA’s Edward R. Murrow, Online Journalism, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi, The Webbys and the White House News Photographer's Association,
She is married to photographer, Tasos Katopodis.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER!
+219-688-3043
jessica@jessicakoscielniak.com
Experience
The Washington Post
Senior Producer - (September 2022-Present)
Managed an award winning national team of visual journalists covering breaking news, politics, local stories, and enterprise
Deployed journalists on significant events, including the 60th Presidential Inauguration, LA wildfires, 2024 campaigns, Trump assassination attempt, Hurricanes Helene, Milton, Ian, October 7 Hamas attack, Maui wildfire, the Discord Files, Trump Indictments, 2023 Southwest heat crisis, and Ukraine.
Served as a liaison between video and photo departments, emphasizing safety, security, and skill development for visual journalists on assignments. A key result was managing and overseeing exclusive footage of the Trump assassination attempt by staff photographer Jabin Botsford, which garnered 6M+ views on YouTube and 3.7M on Instagram.
Managed all video coverage for the Paris Olympics and served as live photo editor for major competitions.
Served as the video journalist on the Trump Campaign in the lead-up to the 2024 Election.
Collaborated on high-impact visual stories like ‘Full Self-Driving’ fatality; To Live or Die in Tijuana; Mental heat; Only Fans: Inside a farm where sex sells; Separated by war, a Ukrainian family balances safety, duty and love; and The nation’s capital, built on water, struggles to keep from drowning.
Led the video strategy for Cartels: RX, a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service.
Partnered with video ops to enhance field gear, workflows, and live filing processes, boosting quality and efficiency for journalists.
Built a strong roster of freelance visual journalists and editors skilled in both photo and video journalism.
White House News Photographers Association
President - (2023-Present)
Manage an Executive Board and Executive Director to execute the WHNPA’s Mission.
Oversee all WHNPA business and Association financials (estimated 350K annually). Increased funding by 115% by nurturing WHNPA’s longstanding partnerships.
Advocate for access at the White House, Capital Hill, and on political campaign trails for all visual journalists.
Build strong partnerships with camera brands locally and nationally (Nikon, Sony and Canon) to better serve Washington photographers.
USA Today
Senior Producer & Photojournalist - (2021-2022)
Produced photo and video assignment/projects including Breaking News and Enterprise.
Major field assignments included the Russian/Ukraine War, US Military suicide crisis in Alaska, and COVID-19.
Planned, produced and executed high-profile interviews, including one-on-one interviews with Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker John Boehner.
Oversaw and managed enterprise projects. This included assigning photos and video assignments, editing and presentation.
Collaborated with USA Today editors to research, develop, and execute video projects.
Worked with visual leadership to identify trends in video habits, including live streaming, long-form and video for digital and social platforms.
McClatchy
Deputy Visuals Editor, Southeast Region - (2020-2021)
Led and assigned team of 10+ visual journalists and video producers, creating career development roadmaps with actionable growth goals.
Trained staff on best practices in field and post-production, establishing workflows for live filing images and real-time editing for Breaking News and Sports.
Contributed to daily news and long-term coverage planning, overseeing video post-production for enterprise projects.
Managed short- and long-term video projects across McClatchy’s Southeast region, including collaborations with ProPublica.
Directed visual coverage for the Republican National Convention for the Charlotte Observer and served as the local-pool photographer for the 2020 event in Charlotte, NC.
Senior Videojournalist - National Video Team - (2015-2020)
Researched, pitched, and executed enterprise, political, environmental, social-economic, investigative, and feature videos, including character-driven narratives, in-depth explainers, and live-streaming National High Impact team and McClatchy Studios.
Managed production and post-production for episodic series Titletown, TX, All We Got, and Ground Game: Texas, with budgets ranging from $100K to $250K.
Served as field and technical director on productions and handled photo assignments as needed. Oversaw social media video content for episodic productions.
Collaborated with the Director on company strategy and developed McClatchy-wide multimedia style guides.
Mentored local photojournalists in all aspects of visual production.
Chicago Sun-Times
Staff Photographer and Videographer (2013-2015)
Completed daily photo assignments for Breaking News and Enterprise.
Partnered with reporters on enterprise projects, including the closure of Chicago Public Schools, Chicago’s gun violence epidemic and mental health in Cook County Jail.
Koscielniak Visuals
Freelance Photographer & Photo Editor (2007-2022)
Editorial and corporate clients included The New York Times, CNN, Getty Images, Chicago Tribune and Apple.
Field picture editing for clients including Getty Images, Sony, Captain Morgan, Verizon, iHeart Radio, Crown Royal, Turner Broadcasting, Capital One, America Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Funded global health projects covering leprosy in Northern India and maternal health in Haiti and Uganda.
Times of Northwest Indiana
Staff Photographer (2007-2010)
Washingtonpost.com
Multimedia Internship (2006)
Patuxent Publishing Company
Photojournalism Internship (2005)