Kiah Collier

Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.

Past Contributions

EPA rejects Texas’ more lenient standard for highly toxic air pollutant

By Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Maya Miller, ProPublica Jan. 28, 2022

In the wake of an investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune into the widely used chemical ethylene oxide, the EPA has moved to reject a less protective standard crafted by Texas regulators and backed by the chemical industry. Full Story

Credit: Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica
A Laredo plant that sterilizes medical equipment spews cancer-causing pollution on schoolchildren

By Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Maya Miller, ProPublica Dec. 27, 2021

Nobody told Yaneli Ortiz’s family that the factory they lived near emitted ethylene oxide. Not when the EPA found it causes cancer. Not when she was diagnosed with leukemia. And not when Texas moved to allow polluters to emit more of the chemical. Full Story

Credit: Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica/Texas Tribune
A Texas lender sued thousands of low-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now the feds are investigating.

By Kiah Collier and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica March 8, 2021

Oportun Inc., a small-dollar loan company, disclosed to investors that it is the subject of a probe by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau following reporting by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. Full Story

Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
“Power companies get exactly what they want”: How Texas repeatedly failed to protect its power grid against extreme weather

By Jeremy Schwartz, Kiah Collier and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Feb. 22, 2021

Texas regulators and lawmakers knew about the grid’s vulnerabilities for years, but time and again they furthered the interests of large electricity providers. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
A lender sued thousands of lower-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now it wants to be a national bank.

By Kiah Collier and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Jan. 8, 2021

Oportun, which lends in only a dozen states, applied for a bank charter late last year. Consumer and Latino civil rights groups are pushing back, citing the findings of a joint investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Full Story

Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune
Oportun Inc. has filed nearly 10,000 lawsuits this year against lower-income Texans. This is how we found out.

By Ren Larson and Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Aug. 31, 2020

Justice of the peace courts, where a majority of debt claims are filed in Texas, aren’t required to report case-level information. Here’s how ProPublica and Texas Tribune reporters got around it to reveal one company’s aggressive tactics. Full Story

Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune
This loan company was founded to help Latino immigrants. It has sued thousands of low-income Latinos during the pandemic.

By Kiah Collier, Ren Larson and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Aug. 31, 2020

A monthslong investigation revealed that Oportun Inc. routinely uses lawsuits to intimidate a vulnerable population into keeping up with high-interest loan payments — even amid COVID-19. Full Story

Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune
This Silicon Valley-based lender sued thousands of Texans during the pandemic. It stopped when we started asking questions.

By Kiah Collier and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica July 28, 2020

The company didn’t say exactly how many pending lawsuits it would drop in Texas and elsewhere, but it confirmed that “several thousand cases” would be impacted. Full Story

Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott is limiting enforcement of COVID-19 orders, but many cities already took a lax approach

By Lexi Churchill, Kiah Collier, Vianna Davila and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica May 14, 2020

Texas cities and counties have dramatically different interpretations of the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders. Complaint data from a dozen cities shows that disparate approaches to enforcement, particularly among businesses, have been incredibly common. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
Coronavirus put her out of work, then debt collectors froze her savings account

By Kiah Collier and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica April 22, 2020

Kim Boatswain's tax refund could have helped her get through the coronavirus slowdown. But debt collectors seized it. There are few options for Texans like Boatswain whose money was taken just before the state temporarily banned such garnishments. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune