Brandon Quester

Notable work and positions

Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting (AZCIR) - founder, executive director and editor
inewsource - director of data and visuals
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University - adjunct instructor; multimedia editor, News21

Biography

Brandon Quester is a Phoenix-based investigative journalist and editor who is the founder, executive director and editor of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting (AZCIR), a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide accountability journalism in Arizona. He holds a master's degree in journalism and mass communication from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he later served as an adjunct instructor and as multimedia editor for the school's nationwide Carnegie-Knight News21 investigative reporting program. Before founding AZCIR in 2012, Quester worked as a reporter and photographer at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the East Valley Tribune, and his early reporting ranged from coverage of children living along the U.S.-Mexico border to American soldiers stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. From 2017 to 2019 he also served as director of data and visuals at the San Diego-based nonprofit newsroom inewsource. He was a 2015 Kiplinger Fellow and is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News's Emerging Leaders Council.

Career highlights

• Founding AZCIR 2012 · Built the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting into a nationally recognized, award-winning nonprofit newsroom and a regional hub for collaborative accountability journalism.
• Kiplinger Fellowship 2015 · Selected as a Kiplinger Fellow, a national program supporting journalists' professional development.
• Institute for Nonprofit News Emerging Leaders Council · Member of a group of nonprofit news leaders recognized for advancing the industry.