Leah Binkovitz (History of Art, ‘10), a senior editorial writer at the Houston Chronicle, has been awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing as part of the Chronicle’s editorial board. The winning series, “Dangerous Crossings,” exposed critical failures in rail safety in Houston’s East End, including the tragic death of Milby High School student Sergio Rodriguez, and helped prompt a $350 million grant program approved by the Texas Senate to improve pedestrian safety statewide, as reported by the Houston Chronicle
The Pulitzer committee praised the editorials for their “rigorous focus on the people and communities at risk” and their successful demand for action.
“I was shocked and honored,” Binkovitz said, in response to learning she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. “To be surrounded by a great team of journalists, some who had been finalists and winners before, it was a very big honor. But I was also really emotional because of the work itself and how many people gave their time to this project.”
Binkovitz graduated from UC Berkeley with the highest honors and received the Departmental Citation upon graduation — the highest recognition for undergraduate achievement. Her senior thesis explored contemporary art and the spatial politics of the U.S.–Mexico border, combining art history with her studies in urban design.
“I have so much appreciation for my art history background. I believe it really taught me to see and observe,” she reflected. “That’s the basis for discoveries of all sorts. Just like this rail series and so much of my work, that [senior thesis] paper tried to capture the meeting point of people and systems: How do we live in these bigger systems, and how do we challenge or subvert their order?”
The Dangerous Crossings project brought national attention to a long-standing issue in Houston, where freight trains frequently block intersections in residential neighborhoods, particularly on the city’s east side by the rail yards and port.
“Houston is unique in the immense number of these crossings, and the delays and disruptions from stopped or slow-moving trains have only gotten worse over the years,” she said. “It was far from a new issue, but it was sort of taken for granted that that was just the way it was. I wanted us to show the serious impact and risks — and to really put some solutions on the table.”
Binkovitz recounted one especially powerful moment from the reporting process: “My favorite part was seeing middle school students confront representatives from Union Pacific and walk them out to the tracks by their school to show them where they wanted a pedestrian bridge.”
Following her graduation from Berkeley, Binkovitz earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in sociology at Rice University. She previously served as senior editor at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and reported for The Washington Post and NPR
“Having the ability to learn from the best in art history and urban studies — two seemingly disparate areas — made me realize I didn’t want to stop learning,” she said. “Journalism seemed like the way to do that. So far it’s been true.”