WRITING

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press primarily covers three counties in southeast Michigan, including robust coverage of the city of Detroit. Founded in 1831, it’s the oldest business in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press has earned 10 Pulitzer Prizes in its history, including one for exposing lies and corruption in the administration of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Its role is to serve as watchdog and community convener.

Anna Pope

Anna Pope covers agriculture and rural communities for KOSU, an NPR affiliate in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Pope holds a bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism from Oklahoma State University, where she reported for the university’s paper and later became its news editor. Pope interned at KOSU public radio, and was a 2021 Community Fellow with the Inasmuch Foundation, a nonprofit with the goal of improving the quality of life for Oklahomans.

Eric Guzmán

Eric Guzmán covers the youth sports culture in Detroit for the Detroit Free Press. Prior to joining the Free Press newsroom, Guzmán did freelance work with El Central Hispanic Newspaper, covering the events and happenings in the Southwest Detroit Community. He's also done work in the podcast space covering sports, music and pop culture. Guzmán earned his Bachelor's in Journalism from The University of Michigan-Dearborn in 2019 and has strong ambitions on achieving a fruitful career in multimedia.

Raquel Villatoro

Raquel Villatoro covers health challenges in northeast Texas for Tyler Morning Telegraph. Villatoro previously interned at The Acadiana Advocate in Lafayette, Louisiana covering various beats from arts and culture to health, while focusing on the Latinx community. Villatoro wrote for the news and arts and life sections at the student newspaper while attending the University of North Texas. They have a bachelor's degree in journalism and history.
Jules Walkup

Jules Walkup

Jules Walkup covers the midcoast region of Maine for the Bangor Daily News, which includes the coastal area from Brunswick to Rockland. Prior to joining Report for America, Jules received their B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia in December 2022. With a minor in political science and a certificate in sustainability, Jules is heavily interested in political journalism and climate change reporting, with a focus in solutions journalism. They worked up from a news contributor in 2020 to managing print editor in 2022 for UGA’s independent student newspaper, The Red & Black. They also wrote environmental stories for the rural paper the Oglethorpe Echo, where they received two awards for their photo story about seniors and the changes they’ve seen in their rural community over the years. In summer 2022, Jules interned for CNN’s Ana Cabrera Show as a producer. Jules is passionate about serving the community they’re reporting on with in-depth, character-centered journalism supported with meaningful and impactful photojournalism.

Delaney Dryfoos

Delaney Dryfoos covers environmental news in New Orleans, Louisiana for The Lens, a nonprofit digital newsroom. Prior to joining The Lens, Dryfoos reported on climate change resiliency in New York City for Inside Climate News. She holds a master's degree in science, health and environmental journalism from New York University, where she worked as the managing editor for Scienceline and an editorial intern at Living on Earth. As a college intern for NJ Advance Media, Dryfoos covered news across New Jersey and their story about South Orange's rainbow lampposts was republished by U.S. News and World Report. She is passionate about reporting on the intersection of health and the environment as well as working to make journalism more inclusive of disabled and LGBTQ+ sources and reporters. She studied biology, global health, policy journalism and media studies at Duke University.

Bangor Daily News

A 132-year-old business owned by one family, the Bangor Daily News increasingly serves the entire state with an earlier shift to digital than most midsize papers. This news organization prizes strong journalism that serves readers, and the 127-person team is young, scrappy, and hungry to grow the BDN’s journalism, capacity and public service.

Cleo Krejci

Cleo Krejci covers workforce development and manufacturing in Wisconsin for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She developed her love for accountability reporting after uncovering dangerous building code violations at a student housing complex as a sophomore at the University of Minnesota. She continued working for her student paper, the Minnesota Daily, until graduation in May 2020, including as editor-in-chief of the 70-person newsroom during senior year. That summer Krejci left her hometown of Minneapolis to spend 10 weeks covering national politics for the Arizona Republic via the Pulliam Journalism Fellowship. From Arizona she moved to Iowa, where she spent two years covering K-12 and higher education for the Iowa City Press-Citizen and Des Moines Register. In summer 2022 she got a full-time job as an unskilled caregiver in a memory care unit, trusting it would serve as fodder for a later project about U.S. elder care.

Victoria Advocate

The Victoria Advocate is 175 years old, and the second oldest daily paper in Texas. This family-owned community paper and news site is committed to reporting daily news, features, and hard-hitting investigations, holding officials accountable.

Melissa Ellin

Melissa Ellin covers community mental health in Normal/Bloomington for WGLT, an NPR affiliate station at Illinois State University. Before this, she did general assignment reporting for Boston.com and statehouse reporting for MetroWest Daily News, while finishing her undergraduate journalism and English degrees at Boston University. She's freelanced for The Maine Monitor, Brookline News, and The Boston Globe. She also has experience with local and national data-driven investigations, including a story for The Boston Globe that uncovered corruption in the Massachusetts Department of Correction's prisoner grievance system. You can also read her byline in NBC Boston and the AP. She graduated in May 2023 with honors.