In the news, for once.
I usually ask the questions. These are the times someone else did, from my first week as a USC transfer student to a USC Annenberg podcast about the road from community college to where I am now.
“History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.”
- The Annenverse · USC Annenberg◉ Listen Resilience and Storytelling with ASCJ Alum Ethan Ward A conversation about going from community college to USC Annenberg, starting HEATDRAWN Media and making Reputation. August 2025Listen ↗
- UCLA Blueprint≡ Read Covering the Unhoused A writer on what I taught them about reporting on homelessness, starting with the words we use. Spring 2024Read ↗
- NBC NewsWatch From homelessness to graduation: One graduate’s inspiring journey Part of NBC News’s Class of 2021 coverage, on going from homelessness to two degrees at USC. June 2021Watch ↗
- USC AnnenbergWatch Graduating with two degrees, Ethan Ward finds a home and a way forward at USC Annenberg Why I did two degrees at once: “I just wanted to have more skills in my toolbox.” May 2021Watch ↗
- Spectrum News 1Watch A new era awaits Ethan Ward after graduating USC From living in my car during community college to graduating with two degrees. May 2021Watch ↗
- USC News≡ Read From homelessness to graduation, this Trojan fights on against all odds Graduating with a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in public diplomacy. May 2021Read ↗
- The New York Times≡ Read California Today Featured in the Times’ daily newsletter about California. NewsletterRead ↗
- USC News≡ Read Transfer student Ethan Ward finds home (literally) at USC Arriving at USC Annenberg from Los Angeles City College. October 2018Read ↗
Need a bio?
For event programs, introductions and articles. Copy whichever fits.
Ethan Ward is a product strategist and journalist whose work on AI, technology and housing has won 18 awards, including a 2026 Online Journalism Award.
Ethan Ward is a product strategist and journalist. He leads product and growth at AfroLA, a nonprofit newsroom in Los Angeles, and reports on AI with support from the Pulitzer Center and Omidyar Network. His AI-assisted newsletter, The Thread, won a 2026 Online Journalism Award. He holds a BA in journalism and a Master of Public Diplomacy from USC, and an MSc in human-computer interaction from University College Dublin.
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