Eva-Marie Ayala covers Fort Worth schools for the Star-Telegram. She graduated from North Side High School in Fort Worth, where she was the mascot. She attended Tarrant County College and graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has worked full-time for the Star-Telegram since 2001. Eva loves spending time with her family and her two dogs, Sunshine and Franklin.
Jessamy Brown has worked at the Star-Telegram since 1992 and covers Texas and local K-12 education topics, including the Southlake Carroll and Birdville school districts, early childhood education and college preparation. Jessamy previously covered municipal government and public safety and worked with young writers at Class Acts, the newspaper's now defunct youth magazine. She is an instructor at an annual summer workshop for high school journalists at the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism.
Shirley Jinkins covers the Arlington and Grapevine-Colleyville school districts, as well as other educational entities and subjects including the State Board of Education, K-12 curriculum and career technology. Her news background also includes reporting on municipal government and community issues, and her features department assignments included a stint as country music critic. A native of San Angelo, she has been a staff writer for the Star-Telegram since the 1980s.
Patrick M. Walker, a Star-Telegram copy editor originally from the Waco area, is a graduate of the University of North Texas. He and his wife, Jami, have three children ages 4 to 12 in Arlington public and private schools.
