Stefanie Ritoper
Engagement Producer, Early Childhood Education

Stefanie Ritoper is an engagement producer for KPCC’s Early Childhood Education coverage.
She focuses on finding creative approaches to engage the community in KPCC’s reporting on early childhood and developing deeper relationships with sources. The goal is to enrich programming and grow KPCC’s audience of Los Angeles County parents.
Before joining KPCC, Ritoper spent more than 10 years supporting civic engagement through media in mission-driven organizations, including the UCLA Labor Center and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. Ritoper was also the founding producer and host of “Re:Work,” a storytelling show about work. She holds a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ritoper is a native Angeleno and spends most of her free time relearning everything she thought she knew about life from her toddler.
Stories by Stefanie Ritoper
SoCal Parents of Littles: How Has Your Child's Behavior Changed During The Pandemic?
Kids who don’t have all the words to express their frustrations tend to act out instead. If you’re a parent or caregiver of a kid 5 and under, we want to hear about your experiences.
Take Two: Parenting Unfiltered, SoCal Parents Show What It's Like To Raise A Family Right Now
Early childhood engagement producer Stefanie Ritoper and reporter Mariana Dale discuss KPCC/LAist's Parenting, Unfiltered project on Take Two.
Parenting, Unfiltered
Last fall, we gave cameras to 12 Southern California parents of young children and invited them to document their lives. Since then, A LOT of things have changed.
These Recent Events Are A LOT — Tell Us Your Story Or Ask A Question
Recent events bring up a wide range of emotions and reactions to this country's tumultuous and troubled history with race and policing. We want to hear from you.
Coronavirus Parenthood: The Stress Level Is High, Glitter Glue Is Everywhere
Shammeer Dawson, a single mom of four children who lives in Hawthorne, checked in with us about parenting in the time of COVID.
Print This Adorable Worksheet We Mailed To LA Kids
These are not typical times, so we did something we don’t typically do — we sent mail to a bunch of children.
What Even Is Postpartum? A Guide to the Other Side of Childbirth
During pregnancy, there tends to be a heavy focus on labor and birth, with far less emphasis on what happens once you get home with the baby. So when KPCC and LAist received a suggestion to do a story about how to prepare for the postpartum phase, we were on it.
What Even Is Postpartum? We Made You A Guide For The Other Side Of Childbirth
We asked for your stories, and you delivered with a clear message: "Plan your postpartum better than your birth." Here's how to do that.
Child Care Workers Have Been Fighting For The Right To Bargain For Years. They May Be About To Get It
California legislature has passed a bill that, if signed into law, would allow some child care workers who serve low-income kids the ability to collectively bargain.
Tell Us Your Postpartum Story — The Good, The Ghastly And The Mesh Underwear
We want to hear about your experiences, from physical recovery, to breastfeeding efforts, to the emotions — and everything in between.