Multimedia Journalist
Reporter
Anchor
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Jessica Barreto
About Jessica
Jessica Barreto is an award-winning, bilingual multimedia reporter who joins KOAA News5 from the vibrant, upbeat city of West Palm Beach, Florida.
As a reporter, she wants to help viewers recognize they have the power to create a positive change in their community.
Jessica strives to use her platform to highlight charities and spread the word on how viewers can help support groups working hard to meet the needs of vulnerable populations.
Jessica is a native of the Sunshine State, where she’s worked for most of her career. Coverage in her hometown state has ranged from presidential visits and red-carpet events to breaking news – including police standoffs and life-saving fire rescues.
The first time she worked in a TV newsroom was at FOX 35 in Orlando, FL. As an intern, she ran in heels along cobble-stoned streets, held a handful of pythons, and stood in a mud trench – all in the name of journalism.
Jessica also picked up experience in a fast-paced network newsroom when she landed a highly-competitive internship at Meet the Press in Washington, DC.
While at the NBC News Washington bureau, she worked alongside the industry’s most well-respected correspondents and learned what it takes to open a dialogue about the nation’s most pressing – and sometimes divisive – issues.
Jessica graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) with a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication.
In Colorado, Jessica has done live reports from the scene of wildfires, flash flooding, hail storms, and snowstorms. You name it and chances are, she's been in the middle of it! It still surprises Jessica how volatile the weather in Colorado can be - and that's saying A LOT coming from a Floridian used to thunderstorms and hurricanes.
That being said, Jessica thinks having real seasons in Colorado is pretty amazing, too. Even though it's been three years since Jessica moved to Colorado, she still can’t believe she gets to wake up to the view of the Rock Mountains every morning.