Erie County native wins Pulitzer Prize

Lancaster native Sara DiNatale is among the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in 2026, receiving an award in Explanatory Writing for her coverage of systemic issues within major insurance companies that left policyholders undercompensated following widespread wildfires.

DiNatale, a 2011 graduate of Lancaster High School, was able to claim the top American prize for journalism at only 33 years old. The San Francisco Chronicle writer partook in a discussion about her accomplishment over the weekend. "The Los Angeles wildfires obviously left visible destruction that everyone could see when homes got razed by flames, but what a lot of this investigation looked at was what was happening to the homes that were still left standing but engulfed with smoke damage and how insurance companies were handling the fallout," she said.

The investigation was already underway when DiNatale began working at the Chronicle with fellow Pulitzer Prize winners Susie Neilson and Megan Fan Munce. DiNatale's previous work investigating bad practices within the residential solar energy industry for the San Antonio Express-News earned her the prestigious George Polk Award in 2024; and that experience prompted the Chronicle to task her with a role on their investigative team.

DiNatale's area of focus was "the lack of science-backed methods" for home restoration following smoke damage. "Homeowners were in fights with their insurance companies over what it meant that their home was actually returned to its condition before the fire," she said. "We found that insurance companies were employing the same group of self-claimed experts that would sort of minimize the amount of toxic chemicals or damage that the home sustained."

DiNatale added that her team's work helped uncover conflicts of interest existing within the state's process to resolve the problem. "A lot of these people that were being hired by the insurance company to sort of downplay the conditions of the home were on a state taskforce that was tasked with coming up with the guidance that was lacking on how to handle smoke-damaged homes," she said. "Homeowners were super alarmed that the same people they were fighting with through their insurance companies were also now going to be part of this state taskforce that put out recommendations."

The topic's coverage, in addition to DiNatale's findings, analyzed broader systemic issues, like algorithms utilizing outdated data that undervalued the cost of fair home restoration payouts. "We were really breaking down a complex system and revealing things that people were not aware was happening," she said.

"It's really a surreal experience," DiNatale said, discussing how it felt to win a Pulitzer Prize. "There is kind of a whisper network where you get a heads-up, and you know you're in the conversation. It doesn't feel real until it's actually announced."

DiNatale added that a highlight of her work on the investigative team was the personal bonds formed during the process. "I'm also really proud of the two people I worked with who came up with this idea and had done such incredible work before I had even got to join in," she said. "The three of us have become really close, so it's also just a lot of pride for two women I consider close friends."

Once the news of DiNatale's Pulitzer win was made public, she said plenty of people in Lancaster reached out to congratulate her. "I got lots of lovely text messages from people that I hadn't heard from in a long time that I grew up with or went to high school with, and it was just cool for everyone, including my family, to see the news get around and see that support."

DiNatale joked that her dad could now share the news of her latest journalistic award without having to explain what it meant. "I think it was really fun for my dad because even if you aren't really following journalism, people [still] know what a Pulitzer is," she said. "I think he realized how fun it was to not have to explain what it was."

She added that it was an honor to be part of the news team that brought a Pulitzer Prize in writing to the San Francisco Chronicle after a number of decades. "In recent history, they've really invested in their investigative reporting," DiNatale said. "I think it was also really exciting for us, as a newsroom-wide effort, to receive this recognition."

Discussing how growing up in Lancaster shaped her career as a journalist, DiNatale said that high school English teacher Robert Gross imparted some wisdom to her at a young age. "He always said something, like, 'Don't be sacred to go past the mall,'" she said. "I think it was the idea of don't get too comfortable in our little bubble, and don't be scared to go out and experience new things."

Passing along some wisdom of her own to aspiring journalists, DiNatale said it's a tough road but worth the effort if you have a passion for the industry. "I was just always trying to submit applications to as many places as I could and network and meet people and figure out a way to make it work. If you think you're interested in it just test it out and keep trying."