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

How strangers rallied to give students with disabilities a class trip

Even the TSA got involved; the agency allowed the Northern Virginia students to practice getting on a plane at Reagan National Airport.

June 3, 2023

How a baby, now 4 months old, was left without a name

She was born at a D.C. hospital, and for reasons that are heartbreaking, complicated and frustrating, she still doesn’t have a birth certificate.

May 27, 2023

The real Bumblebee and Optimus Prime roll out for Georgetown statues

The voice actors for the Transformers are listed as witnesses for an upcoming hearing on the controversial statues that stand outside a brain scientist’s home.

May 24, 2023

An art gallery with a unique purpose opens with a unique artist

D.C. resident Denise B. Hawkins discovered her artistic calling during an isolating time. Now, her work is bringing people together inside a former laundromat.

May 20, 2023

Meet the Red Bike Guy, who in a viral video heckled white nationalists

D.C. resident Joe Flood said when he noticed counterprotesters weren’t present, he felt it was his duty to say something.

May 17, 2023

Excuse me while I walk my dragon: a nod to the weirdness of motherhood

For Mother’s Day, an acknowledgement of all the absurd, silly, wondrous situations our pre-mom selves could have never imagined us embracing.

May 13, 2023

Letting bad drivers stay on the road is costing D.C. more than money

A letter signed by 650 people and several organizations calls on city officials to take action against reckless drivers.

May 10, 2023

The slow chokehold on the nation’s homeless

Jordan Neely was unique. But in D.C. and every city across the country, there are people like him.

May 6, 2023

A moral low: Expecting teachers to see being shot as part of the job

In a response to a lawsuit from Abigail Zwerner, who was shot by a 6-year-old student, Virginia school officials argue she should only get workers’ comp.

April 29, 2023

A device designed by a Howard student could reduce shootings by kids

The product the 19-year-old created uses technology to let adults know when a child moves a stored gun.

April 26, 2023