Jade Jackson has been the public safety reporter for IndyStar since May 2024. The native Hoosier from the westside of Indianapolis graduated from Ben Davis High School before heading to the Lone Star State for college. Jackson received her bachelor’s in journalism from the University of North Texas where she broke national stories involving her campus. She was a broadcast TV journalist for five years in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas before returning home as a USC Center for Health Journalism fellow covering disparities for African American boys in the Martindale-Brightwood community. The award-winning reporter, whose legal name is Vernisha Crenshaw, focuses her work on amplifying everyday voices to highlight real life experiences for Hoosiers.