Jennifer Kovaleski joined the ABC15 Investigators in June 2023, bringing with her a lengthy record of law-changing, viewer-impacting investigations.
Jennifer comes to ABC15 from Denver, Colorado where she spent the last 10 years of her career. During her time in Denver, her stories uncovered failures with child services, led to the disbarment of an elected district attorney, and significant policy changes after millions of dollars to improve safety wasn’t spent after a Colorado school shooting.
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Her stories exposed how Colorado’s family court system was failing to protect children from psychological and emotional abuse. Her investigation focused on the death of a 10-year-old boy who was killed by his father. Jennifer’s series of year-long reports uncovered social services missed warning signs and led to new legislation changing the state’s definition of child abuse. The law also mandated better training for caseworkers.
Jennifer’s reporting led to the resignation and disbarment of an elected Colorado district attorney after her stories found he violated the law by not properly notifying crime victims of plea deals.
Prior to her time in Denver, Jennifer worked for WTVD-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina as a reporter and digital journalist. As one of her first investigations, she uncovered a loophole in state law allowing sex offenders to move to North Carolina without having to register. The report won an RTDNAC First Place Award for Investigative Reporting. Jennifer also covered major news including Hurricane Irene's arrival on the Carolina coast, and former Presidential candidate John Edwards' federal campaign finance trial.
Jennifer’s career started at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri where she also attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism and graduated Cum Laude. During her time in Missouri, Jennifer covered the 2008 Presidential campaign and interviewed then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama as he traveled through the state.
Jennifer previously lived in Arizona for seven years and attended Arrowhead Elementary School in Glendale. Jennifer was born in Reno, Nevada, and has lived in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Raleigh, Sacramento, and Denver.
In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys watching her husband, Doug, coach football at Chaparral High School and spending time with their daughter Layla. She also loves to try new restaurants and has always enjoyed hiking and exploring new places!
Have a tip? Contact Jennifer on Facebook, Twitter or via email at Jennifer.Kovaleski@abc15.com
