Lisa Heyamoto is a narrative journalist and journalism educator whose research, teaching and creative work focuses on community-building through storytelling. Before joining the SOJC faculty, she was a columnist and reporter at The Sacramento Bee and The Seattle Times, where she wrote about culture, lifestyle and trends.

As a senior instructor of journalism at the University of Oregon, Heyamoto cultivates the next generation of journalists by combining foundational skills with critical thinking and digital agility. She oversees the SOJC’s multimedia storytelling sequence, Gateway to Media, as well as several experiential learning programs in New York, Cuba and Sri Lanka. She has won several teaching awards, including the Jonathan Marshall Award for Innovative Teaching and a Disruptive Educator Fellowship from the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism. She has been voted one of the best professors at UO.

Heyamoto is co-founder of The 32 Percent Project, which explores what drives and disrupts public trust in the news media. She holds a masters degree in literary nonfiction journalism and a bachelors degree in journalism and English.

MS, University of Oregon
BA, University of Washington

Break the News, an digital reporting textbook, Great River Learning, 2013

“Chameleon Interviewing – How Changing Your Approach Can Be The Key To A Great Interview,” Interviewing: The Oregon Method, Oregon State University Press, 2014

2016 Jonathan Marshall Award for Innovative Teaching, School of Journalism and Communication

2016 Best Professor, 2nd place, Daily Emerald’s Best of Campus

2015 Outstanding Faculty Leader, University of Oregon Asian Pacific Islander Strategic Initiative Group

2015 Most Valuable Professor, University of Oregon Lacrosse Team

2011 Outstanding Teaching, School of Journalism and Communication

2011 Best Journalism Project, School of Journalism and Communication

2007 Best of the West Award, Features Reporting

2005 Best of the West Award, Features Reporting

2004 Excellence in Journalism Award, News Reporting

2000 Excellence in Journalism Award, News Reporting

Reporting
Feature Writing
Lifestyle and Culture Journalism
Multimedia Journalism
Experiential Learning
Media Trust
Media Literacy
Community Engagement

Media Professions
Gateway to Media I,II and III
Reporting I
Features I and II

SuperJ in NYC Experience
Storytelling in Cuba
Storytelling in Sri Lanka