2023-2024

Eva Tesfaye

Eva Tesfaye covers air and water quality from Kansas City, Missouri for Harvest Public Media, a collaborative network of reporters and stations in the Midwest. She is part of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, a reporting network across the Basin. Prior to this, Tesfaye was a producer at NPR’s daily science podcast “Short Wave.” As an NPR Kroc fellow, she produced for “Weekend Edition,” reported for NPR’s national desk, helped start a podcast about the federal executions carried out under the Trump administration for NPR member station WFIU, and reported from Birmingham, Alabama for the regional collaboration, the Gulf States Newsroom. Tesfaye joined NPR after graduating from Columbia University with a bachelor’s in English and a minor in French and Francophone studies.

Isaiah Murtaugh

Isaiah Murtaugh is an education reporter at the Ventura County Star, which is part of the USA Today Network and based in Camarillo, California. As a freelance podcast producer, he created a historical documentary series for Reckon Radio and wrote and produced episodes for “The Whistleblower,” a series from The GroundTruth Project and Boston’s WGBH public radio. Murtaugh has reported audio and print stories on religion and politics, and his work has appeared in The Guardian, USA Today and Religion News Service. He calls Los Angeles home, and holds a master’s degree in specialized journalism from the University of Southern California. A train lover, shoe skeptic and songwriter, Murtaugh has performed Americana music under a stage name.

Julie Luchetta

Julie Luchetta is a reporter for Boise State Public Radio, covering Idaho's growing Latino population. She has interned as a breaking news reporter for The Arizona Republic, and is a recent graduate of the University of Arizona School of Journalism, where she focused her work on environmental journalism and audio reporting. Born and raised in France, Luchetta moved to the U.S. to study the borderlands of Arizona. Before becoming a reporter, she worked in research and social services, most recently supporting LGBTQ+ folks experiencing homelessness. Luchetta spends her free time recommending podcasts to people who did not ask for podcast recommendations.

Malak Silmi

Malak Silmi covers city and government affairs for Outlier Media, a nonprofit service journalism organization based in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, she was a digital reporter for the San Antonio Express-News in Texas, covering trends and breaking news. Silmi holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and international studies from Wayne State University, where she was a reporter and news editor of the student paper, The South End. She has interned at Michigan public radio, and participated in The New York Times Student Journalism Institute. Shortly after graduating in 2020, Silmi reported for Outlier Media, providing updates on COVID-19 guidelines, elections and other topics, with information in both English and Arabic. For fun, she enjoys traveling, reading and enjoying the outdoors (when it’s warm).

Ricardo Delgado

Ricardo Delgado reports for the San Antonio Express-News, covering the expansion of the Hill Country north of San Antonio, Texas. Before joining the Express-News, Delgado reported for the San Antonio Sentinel, and for Capital City Soccer. His foray into journalism started at The University Star, the student-run paper at Texas State University. Inspired by "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and other programs, Delgado reported on student government meetings, and the ever-changing pandemic.

Tashi McQueen

Tashi McQueen is a political beat reporter concentrating on voter education for Afro News, which serves Baltimore’s Black community. Prior to joining the Afro, McQueen freelanced for The Baltimore Sun, with her first story earning a spot on the front page. Holding a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Goucher College, McQueen got her start in journalism by reporting for The Goucher Eye, the college’s digital news source. She is a member of the Baltimore Association of Black Journalists, and she speaks French and Spanish and enjoys learning new languages in her free time.

Caroline Beck

Caroline Beck covers K-12 education in Indianapolis, Indiana for the IndyStar, reporting on all 11 school districts in Marion County. Prior to joining the IndyStar, she covered the state legislature for Alabama Daily News, and also reported on education, prisons and parole boards, unemployment benefits and health care. Her interest in journalism began in college where she reported for the student-run paper, including covering a Ku Klux Klan rally and cutbacks in college staffing, then becoming the paper’s editor. She has interned for In These Times magazine in Chicago. A native of Speedway, a town on the west side of Indianapolis, Beck has attended the Indy 500 every year since 2016.

Frances Mize

Frances Mize covers the climate and environment for Valley News, a paper and news site serving the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire, based in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Mize was born and raised in Atlanta, and she is a recent graduate of Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in anthropology. She has written about clean water and sustainable energy issues for The Working Waterfront, which is published by the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine. Mize was a general assignment reporting intern and freelancer for Valley News, and says that she is thrilled to continue growing as a reporter in the community that first taught her how to report.

Jacob Resneck

Jacob Resneck covers state government for Wisconsin Watch, a nonprofit newsroom run by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Before this, he was regional news director for CoastAlaska, a public media collaborative in southeast Alaska. Resneck spent several years working in Germany and as an Istanbul-based freelancer covering Eastern Europe, the Middle East and post-Soviet space for national publications and radio outlets. Closer to home, he’s written for newspapers large and small (but mostly small) and regional magazines. He was an Austria Fellow with the International Center for Journalists, and recently finished his second term as a board member of the Alaska Press Club, which trains journalists and advocates for First Amendment rights in the 49th state. Resneck is married and has two children.

Katie Redefer

Katie Redefer is a reporter whose work is published in two newspapers, Maryland’s The Salisbury Independent and Delaware State News. Previously, she was a metro correspondent for The Boston Globe’s city desk, reporting on breaking news. Redefer holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Emerson College, where she served as the editor-in-chief of The Berkeley Beacon, the student paper. In her free time, she enjoys practicing creative fiction writing, or sitting on the beach with a good book.