Francisco Avilés Pino is a Mexican writer, editor, producer, and narrative strategist based in Los Angeles. Working across journalism, documentary film, television, and public storytelling, they create character-driven work that examines power, identity, migration, and the institutions that shape everyday life. Whether reporting an investigation, producing a documentary, or developing scripted projects, Francisco is drawn to stories that reveal how personal lives intersect with larger political and cultural forces.

​

Their reporting, essays, and creative work have appeared in The Nation, Vogue, The Intercept, NPR, HarperCollins, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA). Francisco's journalism has centered accountability reporting, immigration, criminal justice, civic participation, and the lived experiences of communities historically overlooked by mainstream media. They are also the creator, host, and executive producer of PRESENTE, an interview and narrative podcast for CALO News exploring the people, ideas, and cultural movements shaping Latino California. Their investigative work has been recognized with nominations from both the International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards and The Ambies.

​

Alongside their reporting, Francisco has become an editorial and communications leader working at the intersection of journalism, philanthropy, and civic engagement. They currently serve as the inaugural writer of Informed IE, helping build a regional newsroom serving Riverside and San Bernardino counties through community-centered reporting and collaborative journalism. Across nonprofit, academic, and media organizations, they have led editorial strategy, developed public narratives, secured philanthropic support for independent journalism, and collaborated with journalists, filmmakers, researchers, and community leaders to expand access to trusted local information.

​

Francisco previously taught creative writing and theatre at UCLA's School of the Arts and Architecture and served as a Senior Fellow with UCLA's Art & Global Health Center. In 2023, they wrote and produced Up To Us, a first-of-its-kind sexual health education film series developed with formerly incarcerated youth and now used throughout California's juvenile justice system. Their work as an educator reflects a broader commitment to storytelling as both a creative practice and a civic tool.

​

Before entering journalism full time, Francisco spent five years as a community organizer with the Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO), supporting campaigns focused on immigration, housing, education, and economic justice. That experience continues to shape an approach to reporting rooted in listening, collaboration, and public accountability.

​

Currently, Francisco is producing a feature documentary exploring immigration, family separation, and return migration while developing a slate of film and television projects inspired by their family's migration story and years of investigative reporting. Their long-term creative practice seeks to bridge nonfiction and fiction, bringing deeply reported stories into film and television while expanding opportunities for underrepresented voices both in front of and behind the camera.

​

Born in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, and raised between Los Angeles and Anaheim, Francisco first discovered storytelling after immigrating to the United States as a child, learning English through bilingual theatre at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. That early experience revealed storytelling as both a means of belonging and a form of civic participation—a belief that continues to guide their work across journalism, film, education, and public life.

​

Francisco is an alumnus of the Macondo Writers Workshop, the NALAC Leadership Institute, the Poetry Foundation's Incubator Fellowship, the Center for Cultural Power's Disruptors Fellowship in Screenwriting, and UCLA.