Nicole Charky, Patch Staff

I'm a writer, reporter based in Los Angeles—my hometown—where I've been covering local, national and international breaking news for more than 10 years. I've lived in Santa Monica and Venice for several years and I'm excited to cover my community.

I was born in Pomona and later moved to La Crescenta-Montrose. I'm a graduate of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. I attended Loyola University Chicago and earned a major in Journalism and minor in Political Science. I served as News Editor at The Loyola Phoenix.

I'm also an adjunct lecturer at Loyola Marymount University, where I teach Introduction to Social Media. My writing and reporting experience includes a focus in health, breaking news, politics, music and entertainment. I've written and produced digital content for podcasts, live action videos and social media content.

I most recently served as Maria Shriver's social media and video producer, producing and promoting Maria's NBC health and news stories, books and journal, podcast and growing her social media community. I am an original member of ATTN: and former Los Angeles Times digital editor. My work has been published by Fitt LA, Glamour, Mashable, Men's Health and Panoply.

My breaking news experience started with City News Service, the newswire for Southern California, and Patch. I'm a former Local Editor for Montrose-La Crescenta.

Have any story tips or ideas? Contact me at nicole.charky@patch.com. You can also follow and DM me at @nicolecharky on Instagram or Twitter.