Yvonne Nava starts her day bright and early with the Daybreak team! You can catch her behind the desk weekdays from 5-7 a.m. and on Midday at 11 a.m. Yvonne has reported and anchored across the country for more than a decade and is so happy to be back in her home state. In her few years with KVUE, Yvonne has been recognized numerous times by the Texas Associated Press for her anchoring.
Born and raised in Laredo, Yvonne jumped into the business at the age of 18 when she started reporting for Telemundo. While attending the University of Texas at Austin, she graduated with degrees in broadcast journalism and business. It was during her senior year when she was recognized by Hispanic Magazine for being an outstanding role model for Latinas.
After graduating from UT, Yvonne got her first anchoring job at KACB in San Angelo, Texas. Her next move took her to KCBD in Lubbock, Texas, where she anchored the weekend evening news, covering everything from deadly tornadoes to the Columbia space shuttle disaster. After less than two years, it was off to Tennessee at WATE in Knoxville, where she helped launch the station's weekend morning newscast.
Yvonne's journey through journalism then took her to the beaches of sunny South Florida. In 2005, she joined WPLG in Miami as a breaking news reporter and anchor. She covered everything from Fidel Castro to Hurricane Katrina. After Miami it was off to Connecticut where she anchored their weekday morning newscast, and instead of tracking tropical storms, it was wall-to-wall coverage of massive blizzards.
In the Nutmeg State, Yvonne was also named one of Hartford's Top 40 Under 40, given to people in Connecticut who are positive role models in the community.
Her career highlights include traveling to rural Mexico, where she discovered contaminated vegetables were the cause of a Hepatitis A outbreak in East Tennessee. She also reported on the capture of Eric Rudolph (the Olympic Park bomber) in North Carolina.
Outside of work, Yvonne enjoys being active in the community. She says the number one perk of being on TV is being asked to participate in events. She has volunteered with the American Parkinson's Disease Association, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and their Race for the Cure, the American Red Cross, the Lupus Foundation, the Salvation Army and Meals on Wheels. Yvonne enjoys mentoring young girls with GenAustin and remembers how impressionable she was as that age. She believes it's important for them to know that they control their own destiny, and that includes not only their career path but their overall happiness as well.
On the weekends, Yvonne loves to go exploring with all her boys -- her husband Alex and her sons, ages 5 and 1. Together they like to go off the beaten path on road trips and visit different museums and restaurants. And now that she is close to family, you can definitely add football tailgates and backyard barbecues to the list!
