Beth Nakamura is a senior staff photojournalist with The Oregonian in Portland, Oregon, where she works primarily on longform, high-impact investigative and enterprise projects. Her recent work includes "The Safest Place," a four-part narrative and multimedia series examining the toll of gun violence on one small high school on the edge of Portland. Her work on "No Mercy," a 10-month investigation into a renowned international relief agency's mishandling of sexual abuse claims by the daughter of the co-founder, received an Emmy. She was awarded an Emmy for her work on "Ghosts of Highway 20,” a narrative and documentary series focused on the victims of serial killer John Ackroyd, a former state highway mechanic who targeted vulnerable women along U.S. 20. With more than 37 million views on YouTube, the series continues to resonate with viewers and will be made into an HBO series produced by actress Octavia Spencer.
Her work has been recognized by American Photography, Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, National Headliner Awards, Online News Association, National Black Journalists Association, National Press Photographers Association and many others.
Beth has taught at the Missouri Photo Workshop and the University of Oregon’s multimedia journalism masters program.