Mari is a senior investigative reporter leading the award-winning NBC 7 I-Team and a Weekend News Anchor for NBC 7. Mari’s stories have prompted local, state, and federal investigations and caused law and policy changes. She is a regular contributor to the award winning NBC 7 Insight Investigative podcast. Subscribe to Insight on your favorite podcast app: Apple, Google Play, Spotify or Stitcher.
She has won numerous Emmy awards for her investigative stories and for her live reports. She's reported breaking news live on the TODAY show, MSNBC, and other NBC stations across the country. She’s also received numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and Press Club.
Before working in San Diego, Mari worked at WLBT, the NBC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi. While at WLBT, she was sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where she rode out the storm and covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She also won an Associated Press award for a piece on the obesity epidemic in the state of Mississippi.
Mari graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science.
She was a Renaissance Scholar and graduated from the Annenberg School for Communication.
Mari is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).
When she’s not reporting, Mari is chasing her two young kids around. She loves the local food and wine scene, traveling, cool hotels and watching USC football.
If you have a story idea, restaurant recommendation or a cool suggestion on family-friendly activities, drop Mari a line!
The Latest
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Distraught People, Deadly Consequences: San Diegans in Distress Killed by Police
A call for help that turns deadly. NBC 7 Investigates takes a look at local police shootings involving people who were in mental distress.
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Face of the Future? Why Some People Aren't Ready to Ditch Their Masks
Experts say people who are at higher risk of catching COVID-19 might want to keep wearing their masks.
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Desperation at Sea: Tougher Security at U.S.-Mexico Border Forces Migrants to Take Bigger Risks
As security along the U.S.-Mexico border toughens, more people are attempting to illegally cross into the U.S. via the sea.
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Have You Seen Them? Thousands of Children and Adults Reported Missing in San Diego County Every Year
Three years after her son’s disappearance, a mom returns to Pacific Beach in the hopes of finding answers to what happened to him.
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Are Everyday Chemicals Causing Infertility?
Chemicals found in products we use every day may be impacting fertility rates.
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‘COVID Orphans': Estimated 40,000 U.S. Children Have Lost at Least 1 Parent to COVID
As COVID-19 turns more children into orphans, siblings step up to fill the void.
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Female Nurses Twice As Likely to Take Their Lives: Study
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are almost 3 million nurses working in the United States, making it the country’s largest health care workforce.
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Sharp HealthCare to Hold Virtual Women's Health Conference
Sharp HealthCare is hosting the 2021 Sharp Women’s Health Conference–Which will be held virtually this year
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San Diego Team On a Mission to Help Seniors Get COVID-19 Vaccine
COVID-19 vaccinations are well underway in San Diego County and although trends are looking optimistic, obstacles seniors continuously face have left them falling in the cracks. One San Diego-based team, however, isn’t letting that happen on their watch and is doing all they can to help.
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Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Hopefuls Turned Off by Recent Blood Clot Concerns
After concerns over dangerous side effects shown in a fraction of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine recipients led the CDC and FDA to recommend the vaccine be temporarily shelved, San Diegans once partial to the single-dose option are now looking at other options. “No, no J & J. Because of the news,” Little Italy pharmacy customer Roger Sheppard said. “Why…
