Rachel Cassandra
Health and Wellness ReporterRachel Cassandra is the health and wellness reporter and producer. As a reporter, she covers statewide health and mental health news. A few of her areas of focus include addiction and the opioid epidemic, food and health care insecurity, rural health care, mental health care and stories of how communities thrive. She also occasionally produces shows for LineOne: Your Health Connection. She’s worked in Alaska Public Media’s newsroom since May 2023.
Before working for AKPM, Rachel was a reporter in Petersburg for KFSK. She also interned for Sitka’s radio station, KCAW. She worked for many years as a freelance journalist, reporting for a range of publications including KQED, Mindsite News, The Atlantic, Atmos and VICE. She graduated from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.
When Rachel is not reporting, she might be running, hiking, crafting, illustrating, reading, playing board games or playing with her two cats — Indigo and Persephone.
You can reach Rachel at rcassandra@alaskapublic.org.
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For people experiencing addiction or mental illness, taking the first steps toward care can seem impossible. So, it can help to talk to a peer, someone who has been through something similar. -
The bill would require schools to provide unbiased information on communication for deaf and hearing-impaired students and support the family’s choice, but experts say it misses kids under 4. -
Phil Zimmerman filed a lawsuit alleging that the Alaska department neglected their duty to protect his son Josh and faults them for a lack of transparency. -
High school students Josie Ungott and Janissa Noongwook set out to learn from their teacher how drumming and dance has changed over the years in their village, Gambell, on Saint Lawrence Island. -
The rate of Alaskans dying from drug overdoses declined by 5% in 2024 compared to the year before. That’s a welcome reduction after the state saw its highest number of overdose deaths on record in 2023. -
The organization claims the Office of Children’s Services has failed to provide funds for food and basics to older youth placed in shelters and dormitories. -
Emergency responders will offer people medication to help them make it through a critical window when overdose survivors are at high risk of dying. -
D spent a decade recovering from an addiction that started when he fell off a ladder, got injured and was prescribed opioid pain pills. -
The state has seen about 1,100 reported flu cases so far this season. -
Alaska public health officials continue to recommend the Hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns, citing high rates of chronic infection in the state.
