NEW

Jose Sandoval

Jose reports on Latino communities in the Finger Lakes region for WXXI Public Media. Prior to joining WXXI News, Jose acted as the bilingual local All Things Considered Host and general assignment reporter for Blue Ridge Public Radio where he reported on elections, language access, and contributed to BPR's award winning Hurricane Helene coverage. His journalism career started as a producer for the Hola initiative at WNIJ and later as an intern with NPR’s content development team. An Illinoisan, Jose enjoys hiking, playing basketball, and listening to music from artists like J. Cole, Feid, and Bad Bunny.

Julia Gentin

Before joining The Santa Fe New Mexican, Gentin interned at The Hechinger Report, where she covered the shutdown of Climate.gov and the rollback of federal clean energy tax credits. Previously, she investigated the bureaucratic neglect of a public housing complex in Savannah's oldest Black neighborhood for The Current GA. She has also interned for the Student Press Law Center, which helped both her mothers' and her own high school papers fight censorship, and written features for Embarcadero Media, located in her native Silicon Valley. Gentin graduated from Amherst College with degrees in Spanish and Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought. At Amherst, she served as managing news editor of The Amherst Student, covering the fall of affirmative action and expanding the paper's reach into the town and surrounding communities. Her senior thesis explored transitional justice and literature in Chile, where she studied abroad. In her free time, she enjoys running, singing, playing soccer and reading.

Katie Reuther

Katie Reuther is a Chinese American audio journalist whose work explores culture, food systems, and community storytelling. Prior to joining KUCB as a regional reporter for the Aleutian Islands, Reuther produced broadcast and on-demand content for Marketplace, APM Studios, Out There podcast, and Heritage Radio Network. Her independent work has been archived by the Vermont Folklife Center and the Library of Congress, and published by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. In 2019, she received a Fulbright grant to research organic agriculture in China. Before transitioning to audio journalism, Reuther earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in food studies from Chatham University. She is an AIR New Voices alum and a graduate of the Salt Institute.

Samuel Collins Hicks

Samuel Collins Hicks is a public health and public interest reporter at MEDIALEX Community Newsroom as part of a pilot partnership with Press Forward Blue Grass, which trains community members to work as journalists in their hometowns. Before joining Report for America, Hicks was the city editor for the LEXtoday newsletter, delivering daily news to an audience of +40,000. He is also a poet, essayist, and TV/film actor. His debut essay Very Truly Yours was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Purple Ink Press, and his poems have appeared in multiple anthologies from Workhorse Publishing.

Ke’Juan Humphries

Ke'Juan Humphries is the Sports Director at Grice Connect. Before joining Report for America, Humphries worked as a freelance sports writer at Grice Connect. In 2023, Humphries earned a bachelor's degree in multimedia journalism from Georgia Southern University, where he served as a sports journalist at the campus media outlet "Your Newsroom" and received several awards for his coverage. Humphries also runs a sports commentary YouTube channel called "Goin' for 2".

Teal Davis

Teal Davis is an environment reporter for Wyoming Public Media, covering wildlife, land use and the preservation of major national parks, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Her position is part of a partnership with High Country News Western Environmental Collaborative (WERC). Before joining Report For America, Davis worked as an environment and data reporter in central Wyoming for The Riverton Ranger and Lander Journal. Born and raised in San Diego, she interned at inewsource, an investigative newsroom, and freelanced for several publications in the city. While earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Diego State University, Davis served as news editor and reporter for the university’s student newspaper, The Daily Aztec. There, Davis broke a nationally recognized investigation into a $1.3 million surveillance system with AI facial-recognition capabilities installed at San Diego State University. She also has published work with KPBS, Times of San Diego, Casper Star-Tribune and Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

Margaret Mellott

As an award-winning journalist in both Kansas and New York, Mellott covered health, education, economic development and local government. For the last two years, she's worked with the Johnson County Post, reporting on the community she grew up in. Prior to working with the Post, Mellott worked in central New York. That work, focused particularly on health, earned her two second place awards in state and local contests — the New York Press Association and the Syracuse Press Club. She was also a part of the team that earned first place in the Public Service Division of the Journalists Association of New York Contest. She graduated from Emporia State University's Communication Program in 2022, where she was also editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Bulletin. After college, Mellott covered statehouse news during an internship with the Kansas Reflector.

Stella Mayerhoff

Stella Mayerhoff, a scientist-turned-journalist, covers Minnesota’s Mississippi River headwaters region for KAXE/KBXE. Previously, Stella wrote for Mongabay, Eos, the San Jose Mercury News, the Monterey Herald, Georgia State University Research Magazine, and Stanford University’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. She was a Taylor/Blakeslee Fellow through the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and earned a master’s degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She also holds a master’s degree in psychology from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and anthropology from the University of Wisconsin. She's a regional finalist for the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Award in Science/Environment Reporting. Stella enjoys spending her time with her cat, TBD, who owes his perfectly odd name to a moment of writer’s block.

Maria Peralta-Arellano

Prior to joining WXPR, Maria Peralta-Arellano reported in Milwaukee as the Eric Von Fellow for WUWM, Milwaukee's NPR. Her reporting at WUWM covered topics that included environment, immigration, the arts, and culture with a focus on amplifying underrepresented voices. Her career is shaped by her experiences working with local and independent news organizations, freelancing for a bilingual newspaper, El Conquistador, covering community needs. She studied at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and graduated in 2024 with a bachelor's degree in multimedia journalism. She also minored in political science and earned a certificate in Latin American and Caribbean studies.

Stephanie Casanova

Stephanie Casanova is a Colorado River reporter for Arizona Luminaria. Her position is part of a partnership with High Country News Western Environmental Collaborative (WERC). Prior to joining Report for America, Casanova worked as an independent bilingual journalist from Tucson, Arizona, who has covered community stories for more than 10 years. She is passionate about narrative, in-depth and investigative storytelling that is inclusive and reflects the diversity of the communities she covers. Her work has been published by CALÓ News, Somos Tucson, Arizona Luminaria and Prism. She previously reported for Signal Cleveland, the Chicago Tribune and the Arizona Daily Star. Casanova is a 2026 investigative fellow with the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting and has completed fellowships with the SPJ Future Leaders Academy, the Maynard 200 investigative reporting program and the IRE Data Journalism Bootcamp. She has also mentored students through the SPJ Future Leaders Academy. When she is not working, Casanova is most likely dancing salsa or baking something sweet.