Raquel Maria Dillon has filed freelance features for National Public Radio's flagship magazines, On the Media, The World, Studio 360, Marketplace, and Latino USA. She spent two years as a staff reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio, where her reporting—on subjects ranging from the presidential primary and the election of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop to the traditions and science behind moose hunting—regularly swept the state AP Broadcast awards. From 2000 to 2002, she was in San Francisco following California's 2001 energy crisis, the healthcare beat, and breaking news for KQED-FM. She started her radio career as an intern/temporary production assistant at NPR, where she helped produce Weekend Edition Saturday and NPR's coverage of the Clinton impeachment saga.

Raquel studied political science at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is currently working towards a master's degree at UC Berkeley, and makes ends meet by filling in at a local commercial news-radio station.