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Celeste Hamilton Dennis on Muck Rack

Celeste Hamilton Dennis

Verified
(She/Her)
Pacific Northwest
As seen in: USA Today, AL.com, NJ.com, KQED-TV (San Francisco,CA), MLive, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Oregonian, Cleveland.com, Penn Live Patriot-News, San Francisco Chronicle and
Covers:  mental health, aging, LGBTQ+ rights, gender justice, immigration
Solutions journalist w/words @npr @usatoday @sfchronicle @oaklandside @mindsitenews @yesmagazine | Fiction writer & essayist | @ucbsoj '24 | she/her

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Celeste Hamilton Dennis’s Biography

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Celeste Hamilton Dennis’s ten-year-old daughter calls her "chat mouth." That’s because she likes to talk, and likes to hear what you have to say. It goes without saying that it’s hard to leave parties.

Celeste grew up in Levittown, New York. She studied literature at Boston College and University College Dublin and after graduating, was faced with a choice: become a music journalist, or head to the Peace Corps in Guyana. She chose Guyana.

That started a decades-long career in nonprofit communi…

Celeste Hamilton Dennis’s Journalist Portfolio

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Harm reduction doulas want you to ask: What makes a good parent? - The Sunday Long Read

Harm reduction doulas want you to ask: What makes a good parent? - The Sunday Long Read

Harm reduction doulas are challenging our preconceived notions of who is "worthy" of the title of parent.

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A Wave of Older Women Surfers Returns to California's Beaches

A Wave of Older Women Surfers Returns to California's Beaches

Throughout California, women over 50 are proving that surfing has no age limit.

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The Enduring Reign of El Daña, Drag King of the Central Valley

The Enduring Reign of El Daña, Drag King of the Central Valley

Elsie Saldaña has been performing in the Central Valley since the 1960s and still occasionally graces the sta…

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Counselors help seniors clean up, avoid eviction

Counselors help seniors clean up, avoid eviction

Some elderly people are evicted due to the risks associated with chronic hoarding. A San Francisco group is h…

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Serious About Gender Exploration? There's a Doula for That.

Serious About Gender Exploration? There's a Doula for That.

Just like birth doulas, gender doulas support people at all stages of their gender journey.

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At this East Oakland salon, violence prevention starts with self-care

At this East Oakland salon, violence prevention starts with self-care

Hair stylists are often a shoulder to cry on for their clients. The Self-i.s.h. Society is taking it further …

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Articles

Harm reduction doulas want you to ask: What makes a good parent?

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By Celeste Hamilton Dennis Verified
| The Sunday Long Read
Editor’s note: This story was published alongside a photo series as part of a project from journalists Celeste Hamilton Dennis and Florence Middleton about harm-reduction doulas and the parents they work with. It was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. Livia Perkins couldn’t help but crack jokes during her cesarean section.
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A Wave of Older Women Surfers Returns to California's Beaches

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By Celeste Hamilton Dennis Verified, Amelia Rodriguez Verified, Amelia Rodríguez
| San Diego Magazine Verified
On a chilly Saturday morning, Pam Orr drives to Campus Point at the University of California, Santa Barbara, surfboard in her backseat. It’s been a stormy few days. She and her five friends have been texting all morning about tide reports, wave height, and swell direction, unsure if surfing is a good idea. It’s the first time in a few months the women’s schedules have aligned. So they go.
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The return of the U.S.'s oldest drag king

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By Celeste Hamilton Dennis Verified
| WRVO-FM (Oswego, NY) Verified
For decades now, drag queens have captured the national imagination. Drag kings, on the other hand, have been relegated to a less prominent position in pop culture. But today on the show, we're telling the story of one Elsie Saldaña — aka El Daña.
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Interview

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Have you ever used a typewriter?

No

How is social media changing news?

It's making it faster and funnier - and sometimes incorrect.

Who do you wish followed you?

Bad Bunny

Awards

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NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists

2025 - Excellence in Radio

The Enduring Reign of El Daña, King of the Central Valley,” KQED

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NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+Journalists

2025 - Excellence in Student Journalism

“Serious About Gender Exploration? There's a Doula for That.” Yes! Magazine, 2025

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2025 - Podcast (Narrative), Region 11 Mark of Excellence

"The Enduring Reign of El Daña, King of the Central Valley,” KQED

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Society for Features Journalism

2025 - Inclusion and Representation in Features, Honorable Mention

“The Enduring Reign of El Daña, King of the Central Valley,” KQED

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2025 - Sports Reporting (Large), Region 11 Mark of Excellence

“Paddling Out With California’s Older Women Surfers,” San Diego Magazine

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2025 - Feature Reporting (Large), Region 11 Mark of Excellence

“Counselors help seniors clean up, avoid eviction,” San Francisco Chronicle

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National Center on Disability and Journalism

2025 - Gary Corocan Student Prize for Excellence in Reporting on Disability

Third Place, “Counselors help seniors clean up, avoid eviction,” San Francisco Chronicle

Digital Health Awards

2025 - Web

“Counselors help seniors clean up, avoid eviction,” San Francisco Chronicle

Association of Health Care Journalists

2024 - Beat Reporting

Stories on solutions in mental health care that looked at Black doulas, a Chinatown dental clinic that screens for depression and a California program to train undocumented therapist. Originally on MindSite News, also republished on USA Today, Capital B, palabra, and San Francisco Press.

Society of Professional Journalists Award

2019 - Features Reporting

Society of Professional Journalists, NW Excellence in Journalism, Runner Up in Soft Feature Reporting for “The Unlikely Style Icon Teaching Older Women to be Fashion Rebels,” 2019

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Society of Professional Journalists Award

2018 - Features Reporting

Society of Professional Journalists, NW Excellence in Journalism, Runner Up in Soft Feature Reporting for “What Is Barbershop Therapy?” 2018

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