Lucas wrote her first news story on a manual typewriter, and has taught online journalism, Web design, digital storytelling, interviewing and content management systems at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.

She worked for newspapers in Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco and San Antonio, and her freelance writing has appeared everywhere from the New York Times to the Auckland, New Zealand Herald. Her journalism has earned dozens of awards, including being named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Her full vitae is on her blog here.

Lucas went to the Web in 1999, becoming managing editor of the online-only financial news Web site, TheStreet.com. She later became Content Director of MySanAntonio.com, the converged site of the San Antonio Express-News and KENS-5 TV. Both TheStreet.com and MySanAntonio.com became profitable during her tenure.

In 2007 she was a manager for the Knight News Challenge-funded Innovation Incubator project, in which 35 college students at seven universites collaborated to create new models of participatory community news production.

She was selected to lead NOWCastSA in 2009.