Maya Rodriguez

Maya Rodriguez joined the Eyewitness News team as a general assignment reporter in April of 2007. Like millions of people across the country, she watched the events of Hurricane Katrina unfold on television and decided to come here to report on the community's recovery.

"I was so moved by what I saw happening here," she says. "The entire staff of WWL-TV, despite dealing with their own personal losses during Katrina, showed their unwavering commitment to journalism. I am so honored to be a part of this amazing team."

Since joining Eyewitness News, Rodriguez has reported stories from across the New Orleans metro area, many of them relating to post-Hurricane Katrina recovery issues. She also traveled to New York City for an in-depth report on successful crime fighting efforts there and followed a New Orleans delegation to Washington D.C., as they addressed members of Congress about post-Katrina concerns.

In 2009, Rodriguez was selected by the East-West Center for a journalist exchange fellowship to Korea. While on the Korean peninsula, she reported on a pending free trade agreement and its potential economic effects on New Orleans. Rodriguez also traveled to the Demilitarized Zone to report on the U.S. military presence, amid heightened tensions between North and South Korea.

Previously, Rodriguez was a reporter for WINK-TV and WXCW-TV, the CBS and CW duopoly in Naples and Ft. Myers, Florida. While there, she covered several active storm seasons, which included Hurricanes Charley, Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for KAMR-TV and KCIT-TV, the NBC and FOX duopoly in Amarillo, Texas. During her time there, she covered storm chasers during severe weather, reported on devastating wildfires in Arizona and followed the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2002 Winter Games, as it traveled across several states.

Rodriguez began her career as a special projects intern for WTVJ-TV, the NBC station in Miami, where she worked with producers on long-format and investigative stories. She holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in New York and graduated with honors from Florida International University in Miami, with a bachelor's degree in communications.

A New York City native, Rodriguez also grew up in Miami and Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic. In addition to her Hispanic roots, she is also of Czechoslovakian descent. She speaks Spanish and French, and is currently studying Mandarin Chinese.

mrodriguez@wwltv.com