Jacki Ochoa
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I’m a one-woman-crew. I produce, write, film and edit stories that are inspiring, honest and illuminating.
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I'm a video journalist.
Over the course of my ten year career in television, the meaning of this has changed. Being a video journalist has meant telling the stories that I found and the ones that found me. It has meant ducking into a burning building with my camera to show you how local firefighters prepared for wildfire season. It has meant filming a ten year old boy getting a fart machine that he hoped to someday use to prank his nurses if he ever found a bone marrow donor to help him fight his second battle with cancer. It meant being nominated for a Pacific Southwest Emmy® Award for a documentary that I produced, filmed, edited and wrote that chronicled the lives of those living with mental illness.
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Today, it means filming the person who picked the grapes used to make the natural wine in your glass. To show you the butcher who made it possible for you to have local and sustainably-sourced meat on your table.

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I seek to use my camera to bring people together -- to show you the people you wouldn't otherwise see, to tell you the stories you wouldn't otherwise hear. It's about giving a voice to others, shining the light and building up stewards of the land, of our food, of our hearts.

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I'm a media personality.
While my instinct is to point the camera away from own face, there are times when a story needs a host or a narrator. Being on camera means connecting with people and helping them maintain understanding throughout a story.

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My experience in front of the camera and in the spotlight evolved as I pursued a career in local television. I anchored the evening news, I emceed fashion shows, hosted Christmas parades, and covered Super Bowls and Elections. In one day’s work, I would report live from breaking news for the morning news shows, do live cut-ins during The Today Show, drive to another location to film another story, make it back to the station to write and edit another, and then clean up and anchor the noon show. The journey was exhausting but it more than just paid the bills -- it filled my heart and challenged my mind.

A major part of this is because people let me into their lives often during their darkest moments -- from fathers wanting people to remember the lives of daughters killed too soon to communities of people returning to find homes devastated after fierce storms.
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They let me in to tell their stories and the stories of their loved ones, so no one would forget and everyone would remember.

​I connected with communities, I invested my time and my heart in hopes of always delivering the most honest, most thorough stories I could.


I'm a lover of food.
I seek to understand people by eating the food they make. I savor. I enjoy. I indulge. Yes, food can tantalize your senses and can make you do the happy dance, but it also has the power to connect with people -- to learn about what they are passionate about and what they care about, and to laugh and enjoy with them. 

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I'm a traveler. 
Travel is everything about life that I love times 100 -- it’s curiosity, discovery, fascination, pushing the limits of my comfort zone and of my understanding of the world and of its people. I’ve done it solo and with my partner. I’m a fan and an endless seeker of travel. ​​

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I'm a Bay Area native.
Born and raised, I moved away to pursue my career but now that I’m back, I’m ready to taste and see everything.

This discovery process began at the Oakland-Grand Lake Farmers Market. I quickly made friends with the farmers asking them about how to choose the right tomato, watermelon, peach. I learned about the local produce and then I went and visited. I explored farms and vineyards in Sonoma County. I tasted grapes right off the vine and chatted with Tom about the history of his farm. I learned about how the food was connected to the people and the restaurants of the Bay and developed a need to eat at Chez Panisse.

I visited Big Sur for the first time. I went back to Bodega Bay and discovered a bakery collective in Freestone. I live in Oakland and work in San Francisco. I take bart. I use reusable bags and I try not to offend. I get my bread from Tartine and my coffee from Peet’s.

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