Marina Villeneuve named AP government reporter for Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Marina Villeneuve, a journalist who has used data and public records to hold officials and institutions accountable around the Northeast, has been appointed state government reporter in Maine for The Associated Press.

The appointment was announced Wednesday by Karen Testa, AP's editor for the east region of the U.S., and William J. Kole, news editor for New England.

"Marina's curiosity and intellect, combined with her aggressive pursuit of data and public records, make her a perfect fit as a government and breaking news reporter. We're thrilled to have her as part of our New England team," Testa said.

Villeneuve, 25, joins the news cooperative from The Record of northern New Jersey, where she has covered local government, politics and other issues since November 2014.

Earlier that year, she completed a 10-month investigative reporting fellowship at the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, obtaining records that shed light on the state's flawed criminal restitution system. She also was part of a team that won a Maine Press Association award for an analysis of the state's top political donors.

Villeneuve, who grew up in Massachusetts, was a foreign reporting fellow in Bogota, Colombia, for The Washington Post. She also had internships with the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and the New England Center for Investigative Reporting. She has a degree in government studies from Dartmouth College.

She will begin May 23.