Vic Vela is a host and reporter for CPR News. Vic is a Colorado native and was the first member of his immediate family to attend college.

Education:
Bachelor’s degree in speech communications, Metropolitan State University of Denver; graduate school, Walter Cronkite School for Journalism, Arizona State University.

Professional background:
Vic started his career as a sports anchor/reporter for an NBC affiliate in Texas. He also worked for newspapers, including as an investigative crime reporter for the Albuquerque Journal. He has covered government and politics in Colorado, and was a five-year member of the Colorado Capitol Press Corps.

Nowadays, Vic is a news and podcast host for Colorado Public Radio. He’s also an affiliate journalism professor at his alma mater.

For 15 years, Vic suffered from a crippling addiction to powder and crack cocaine. He’s been in recovery since 2015. After testing positive for HIV in 2006, the virus has long-been undetectable thanks to his rigorous adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

He’s the host of “Back from Broken,” a podcast about recovery and comeback stories from Colorado Public Radio.

Awards:
Vic is a three-time Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist, and has won more than a dozen other journalism awards in the Rocky Mountain region. Vic has received multiple awards from the Colorado Press Association, including First Place in 2013 for Best Sustained Coverage for his reporting on gun control legislation at the State Capitol, as well as awards for his column writing. He was also awarded an honorable mention in 2010 for Best News Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, and First Place for Best Series or Continuing Coverage in 2007 from the New Mexico Press Association.