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

A final column from someone who has seen the power of local journalism

Together, over the last six years, we took on complex issues, met interesting people and did some good.

May 25, 2024
Theresa Vargas's son types on her computer.

Whistleblower says DOT kept important truck safety info from the public

Families who lost loved ones in crashes with large trucks and people with national organizations are now calling for an investigation

May 15, 2024
Traffic on 495 comes to a halt after an accident.

How a recipe brought my son closer to the grandma he didn’t get to know

For Cinco de Mayo, people across the country will be reaching for Mexican food. So will my son and I, but for a different reason.

May 4, 2024
A tortilla warmer sits on the counter in Theresa Vargas's home.

A teen’s body was found in Virginia. His family is devastated and angry.

After Maryland teenager Jason Abarca went missing in December, his family pleaded for the police and the public to see him as more than a fugitive.

May 1, 2024
Jason Abarca carries the casket of older brother Korey Platt.

A Virginia family took in a child refugee. Then his brothers came.

When the teenager fled Afghanistan and arrived in the U.S., he was alone. He has since seen a community come together to help him and his four brothers.

April 20, 2024
At 16, Noorulhadi Noorani fled Afghanistan alone. Now, his four brothers live near him in Virginia.

D.C. store that survived 1968 unrest and gentrification now closes

An iconic photo taken at Monarch Novelties in 1968, as parts of D.C. burned, shows three brothers standing, guns in hand, ready to protect the family business

April 13, 2024
During the 1968 riots, at Monarch Novelties, three brothers stand in front of their parents, guns ready.

She gave 67 years to working in schools. Then she gave $1 million.

Even after her death, Lillian Orlich, who served as a teacher and counselor before retiring at the age of 89, is still helping a Virginia school system

April 6, 2024
Lillian Orlich, at 89, after she retired as a guidance counselor at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, VA.

A new cereal pays tribute to D.C. The creators have sweet hopes.

The creators of Capitol City Crunch, which honors the city in more than name, were searching for joy after loss when they entered the cereal business

March 30, 2024
Brandi Forte holds a box of Capitol City Crunch.

A late, but not too late, apology for the shameful use of Black bodies

Decades after a Black man’s heart was used in a transplant without his family’s consent, Virginia lawmakers express “profound regret.” That matters.

March 13, 2024
Bruce Tucker's grave.

It shouldn’t take a lawsuit for D.C. to do right by disabled students

City officials have long known that unreliable school bus service is disrupting families and keeping children from arriving at school on time or at all

March 9, 2024
An electric school bus is parked on Capitol Hill.