NEW

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.

Matt Mencarini

Prior to joining Bridge Michigan, Matt Mencarini was a local government and investigative reporter at the Lansing State Journal. His journalism career has taken him to five different states, where’s covered mass incarceration in Kentucky and voting rights in Wisconsin. During a previous stint at the State Journal, he spent more than two years covering the case of Larry Nassar, a former Michigan State University sports doctor serving prison time for sexually assaulting women gymnasts. Mencarini also investigated Michigan State University's failures to stop the abuse sooner. Mencarini was part of the Louisville Courier Journal team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. He’s a Chicago native with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee and bachelor’s degree from Augustana College in Illinois.

Drew Shaw

Before joining The Aspen Daily News, Drew Shaw held local elected officials accountable in Fort Worth, TX, reporting on government spending and city hall politics for the Fort Worth Report. Shaw's work also appeared in ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and The Dallas Morning News. A Texas native, Shaw studied journalism at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he served as managing editor at The Shorthorn, the student newspaper. He took his last UTA classes from Washington, D.C., as an intern with Al Jazeera English.

Max Kappel

Before joining The Yale Expositor, Max Kappel covered local government and features for The Laker Pioneer, a Lake Minnetonka area newspaper. His journalism career began when he joined his college newspaper in his senior year as a sports reporter and editor. He earned his bachelor's in Information Science from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with certificates in Classical Studies, Data Science, Digital Media Analytics, and Sports Communication. When he's not working, Kappel enjoys reading, playing basketball, and spending time by the Chain of Lakes.

Sydney Salomon

Sydney Salomon is a housing and community affairs reporter covering homelessness, housing affordability, and local policy. She previously reported for New Mexico In Depth, where she produced a feature on LGBTQ+ youth homelessness that was republished as a cover story by the Santa Fe Reporter and reached the New Mexico Statehouse. She also worked as a reporter for NYU’s graduate publication, The Click, covering housing and education issues across Union County. Salomon holds a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Saint Elizabeth University, where she graduated cum laude. In addition to reporting, she is an independent poet and the author of 7 books. She has received awards for two of her poems, separate from her published book work, The Lunchroom (2023) and The Ballads of Tragedy: America’s School Shooting Saga (2024). A New Jersey native, she enjoys creative writing and community-focused storytelling.