Adriana Heldiz

Adriana Heldiz is the assistant visuals editor at CalMatters. Her expertise includes photojournalism, video journalism, graphic design and motion graphics. She’s passionate about visual storytelling that helps inform underserved communities and promotes civic engagement. 

Prior to joining CalMatters, Adriana worked at The San Diego Union-Tribune, where she was part of the photo team that covered daily life in the San Diego region. Adriana assumed photo editor responsibilities and helped lead staff and contributing photographers. Her visual and explanatory work on a two-part series that detailed the rise and fall of Gina Champion-Cain, the architect of San Diego’s biggest Ponzi scheme, was recognized in the 2022 California News Publishers Association awards contest. 

Adriana also worked at Voice of San Diego for five years, expanding the organization’s visual storytelling capabilities through photojournalism, graphic design, motion graphics, social media strategy and more. She also created San Diego 101, a video series that explains how the region works, which continues to grow to this day. Adriana’s visual reporting on school bus cuts in the San Diego area received an award from the Education Writers Association. She has also won numerous SPJ San Diego awards, including first place in breaking news for her photo of a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. 

Adriana is based in San Diego and was born and raised in Chula Vista. She loves collaborating with reporters and helping them brainstorm the best ways to incorporate visuals into their stories. She’s an alumni of San Diego State University and Southwestern College, and is proud to be a first-generation Mexican-American.

In her spare time, Adriana enjoys reading, digging through the internet archives and eating carne asada fries.