Marisa Kwiatkowski is an American journalist and former investigative reporter at '' USA Today'', known for her reporting of the USA Gymnastics' sexual abuse scandal. As of July 2024, she is a director of journalism programs at the

Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...

Life and career

Kwiatkowski holds an undergraduate degree from

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

(B.A., 2005) and began her career in Michigan at the '' Grand Haven Tribune''. From 2013 to 2019, Kwiatkowski worked as a reporter at '' The Indianapolis Star''. She reported on a variety of investigative stories focused on victims of assault and harassment. During this time, Kwiatkowski completed a night-time masters of business administration degree program at Indiana University. In 2019, she joined USA Today as an investigative reporter based in Indianapolis. In 2020, Kwiatkowski and colleague Tricia Nadolny broke the story that USA Cheer, the governing body of American cheer-leading, knowingly allowed convicted sex offenders to own and operate cheer-leading gyms and otherwise continue to be involved in the sport.

USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal

While at the ''Star'', Kwiatkowski worked on the "Out of Balance" series, which turned into an investigation about how the USA Gymnastics organization failed to report many allegations of sexual abuse by coaches. The reporting began in 2016, initially looking at Indiana-based assaults that were not reported to authorities. The reporting grew in scope and showed how predators exploited a lax culture to prey on children. As a result of the series, more than 500 women came forward with allegations of sexual abuse against Larry Nassar, a team physician who worked in four Olympic games. The ''Star's'' reporting exposed Nassar as a serial abuser. He was sentenced to 175 years in prison in January 2018 after pleading guilty to sexually abusing seven girls and the CEO of board of directors of USA Gymnastics resigned. The ''Star'''s investigative series also led to the drafting and passage of the

Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, also known as the Safe Sport Authorization Act, is an American law that establishes protection for young athletes. Among its provisions, it established the U ...

, which was signed into law by President Trump.

Later career

In July 2024, Kwiatkowski became a director of journalism programs at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwiatkowski, Marisa Living people American people of Polish descent American women journalists 21st-century American non-fiction writers Indiana University alumni American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers Grand Valley State University alumni The Indianapolis Star people USA Today journalists Year of birth missing (living people)