Bennito L. Kelty has been a staff writer at Westword since April 2023. Before joining Westword, Bennito worked for publications such as the Columbia Missourian, the St. Louis American, Vox Magazine, the Yuma Sun and the online Tucson Sentinel. He’s received awards from the Arizona Press Club, including first place for Spanish-language feature reporting and second place for social issues reporting. Bennito was a member of the Report for America Corps and is a graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia.