Theresa Vargas

Washington, D.C.

Local columnist who previously wrote for the local enterprise team about poverty, race and people with disabilities. Education: bachelor's from Stanford University; master's from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

 Theresa Vargas is a columnist for The Washington Post. Before that, she worked on the local enterprise team, writing stories that took her, among other places, into a home for transgender teens, a support group for survivors of gun violence and a courtroom where a woman with Down syndrome fought for the right to decide how she lives. During the peak of the recession, she and a photographer traveled across the country to chronicle how Americans were coping. Before coming to The Post, she worked at Newsday in New York.

Latest from Theresa Vargas

She grew up believing college was a ‘scam’ and a ‘rip-off.’ Let’s not prove her right.

This graduation season, the college admissions scandal has forced us to consider who deserves to walk across those stages — and who doesn’t.

May 18, 2019

‘I’m angry & rageful & sad’: A Virginia inmate’s letters show why solitary confinement should concern us all.

A lawsuit aims to end solitary confinement at two Virginia maximum-security prisons. The man behind these letters spent time in one and will soon be released.

May 15, 2019

My Mother’s Day wish: That I never have to tell my son, ‘You don’t have to be the hero’

Children should lose friends because of childhood disagreements, not because adults have failed to address gun violence.

May 11, 2019

A man in a wheelchair couldn’t get to a wedding in a public park. This is what accessibility looks like 30 years after the ADA passed.

The wedding was held on a recent Saturday on the lower level of Meridian Hill Park in D.C.

May 8, 2019

Count among the things that divide Washington: Azaleas

This is the time of year that they are blooming across the region — to the joy of some and the dismay of others.

May 4, 2019

Maryland just banned placing pregnant inmates in solitary confinement. Yes, that was apparently happening.

Former prisoners describe how isolated they felt at a time when they needed support the most.

May 1, 2019

‘It hurt’: A 9-year-old boy was handcuffed. But how many other D.C. children have also been?

City officials are taking the boy’s detention seriously. Will that lead to more police transparency?

Apr 27, 2019

The Howard University controversy was never just about dogs. It was about respect.

Students and administrators at the historically black university have politely and not-so-politely sent a message: Stop using our sacred yard as a public park.

Apr 24, 2019

The revered (and very messy) Easter tradition you might not have heard about

Cascarones are not as popular in the D.C. region as they are elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t long tied some families together here.

Apr 20, 2019

A century before Austin’s bombings, a deadly Wall Street explosion was never solved

The bombing, which killed 39 people and injured hundreds more, set off an intense and unsuccessful investigation — a reminder of the challenges facing authorities in Austin.

Mar 20, 2018