Claudia Vargas is an award-winning investigative reporter for NBC10. You can watch Claudia’s reports weekdays on NBC10.
Claudia joined NBC10 and Telemundo62 in April 2020. Since then, her investigative reports have led to new laws and changes in city policy. She has dug into issues of racial equity within the police department's recruitment practices, exposed the city's discrepancy in how it doled out line of duty death benefits, and uncovered that the city's subsidized workforce housing program was being abused by some of its participants.
She's also been a staple of the "Race in Philly" special series, reporting on criminal justice reform, climate change, migration and education as it pertains to people of color in Philadelphia. Her most in-depth work has been the award-winning true crime docu-series "Who Killed Barbara Jean?". The 12-part series led to Philadelphia Police reopening what had since become a once again cold case of a murdered 4-year-old girl.
Her work at NBC10 has garnered four Mid-Atlantic Emmys and three Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Prior to NBC10 and Telemundo62, she was with the Philadelphia Inquirer where she served as a reporter for 10 years, most recently with the investigative team. During her time with the Inquirer, she also covered the Camden and Philadelphia City Hall beats. Prior to joining the Inquirer, Claudia was a reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, and spent time in Paris as a freelance reporter for USA Today’s London bureau.
Fluent in Spanish and English, Claudia is a first-generation American and was born in Miami to Colombian parents. She spent her formative years in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Cali, Colombia; before returning to Miami to complete middle and high school.
“I am grateful to NBC10 for giving me the opportunity to bring stories to viewers in English and in Spanish in an increasingly diverse region,” said Claudia. “I couldn’t be happier to be joining a team that is investing in and sees the value of investigative journalism at a time when we need it most.”
Claudia earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Broadcast Journalism and International Studies from Penn State University. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors and served as a governor on the board of the Pen and Pencil Club, one of the nation’s oldest press clubs.
Follow Claudia!
Instagram: @ByClaudiaVargas
Facebook: @ByClaudiaVargas
The Latest
-
Pa. House Votes Philly DA in Contempt for Failing to Respond to Subpoena
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner could potentially be jailed for the contempt vote. A spokeswoman for the DA called the House vote “undemocratic” and vowed to fight its legitimacy.
-
Philly's Clean Energy Goals Languish as Solar Farm Remains Unbuilt
An NBC10 investigation found that the City of Philadelphia’s 70-megawatt solar farm, first announced in 2019, remains unbuilt. The project has been sold three times with none of the developers putting a shovel in the ground. Meanwhile, a solar farm built since then by SEPTA is proving well worth it for the transit system’s bottom line and clean energy...
-
Philadelphia City Employees Get First Dibs at Affordable Housing
NBC10 investigative reporter Claudia Vargas digs further into a Philadelphia City Council initiative called the Workforce Housing Program. Now, officials say, city employees are getting first dibs to buy homes through the initiative.
-
Philadelphia City Employees Get First Dibs at Affordable Housing
NBC10 investigative reporter Claudia Vargas digs further into a Philadelphia City Council initiative called the Workforce Housing Program. Now, officials say, city employees are getting first dibs to buy homes through the initiative.
-
Baby, 3 Others, Survive After Medical Helicopter Crashes Outside Church
A medical helicopter went down right next to a Delaware County, Pennsylvania, church Tuesday afternoon.
-
Affordable Housing Program Failed to Increase Black Homeownership
An affordable housing initiative in Philadelphia failed to increase Black home ownership in gentrifying neighborhoods, according to an NBC10 analysis of seven years of housing records. NBC10 investigative reporter Claudia Vargas talked to housing advocates who say they are ready to help Black residents become homeowners.
-
Philly Affordable Housing Plan Failed to Help Targeted Home Buyers
An affordable housing program created was meant to help 1,000 middle-class residents buy a house in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. Instead, it subsidized the construction and sale of about 140 homes. City officials now say there was little oversight and that an audit of the program should be conducted.
-
Philly Affordable Housing Plan Sped Up Gentrification, Analysis Finds
Most home buyers who purchased properties through a Philadelphia City Council-created affordable housing program that supported home construction in Black-majority neighbrohoods were white and Asian, according to an NBC10 analysis of the program. NBC10 reporter Claudia Vargas spoke with some of the home buyers and developers to find out what happened to the program.
-
House Fires Faster, Deadlier Than Ever, Experts Say
National fire experts say house fires used to take about 17 minutes to become a deadly trap for residents. Now, they say, fires can take about 3 minutes to do that. NBC10 reporter Claudia Vargas found out why.
-
How Homes in Philly Affordable Housing Plan Fell Through Cracks
An affordable housing program created by City Council was meant to help middle-class residents buy homes in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. Instead, it subsidized the construction and sale of about 140 homes, according to an analysis by the NBC10 Investigators. City officials told NBC10 reporter Claudia Vargas there was little oversight and that an audit of the program should be conducted.
