James Soderling is an education reporter at CivicLex as part of a pilot partnership with Press Forward Blue Grass, which trains community members to work as journalists in their hometowns. Soderling was born and raised in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and is a recent graduate of Transylvania University. Before joining Report for America, Soderling reported for his university’s newspaper, The Rambler, and worked at Community Action Council through his AmeriCorps service. He also interned at Kentucky Refugee Ministries and worked on Charles Booker’s U.S. Senate campaign. Soderling’s interest in journalism was solidified through his thesis on coal-dependent communities in transition, which combined on-the-ground reporting tactics with policy research to examine how places like his hometown adapt to economic change.
Beat: Civic and Community Reporter
Lexington's civic life is undergoing significant transformations across City Hall, the public school system, neighborhoods, and other areas. The Civic & Community Reporter will cover these changes with an eye to how they impact residents and build resources for them to engage with decision-making in Lexington.