2023-2024

TucsonSentinel.com

The Tucson Sentinel is a nonprofit independent digital newsroom that informs southern Arizonans about the community challenges and unique culture of this area. It is the only locally-owned source for watchdog reporting. This award-winning newsroom serves readers in Tucson and rural stretches of Pima County, along with the other border counties of Santa Cruz and Cochise.

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.

Jim Nintzel

Jim Nintzel covers politics for the Tucson Sentinel, an online news agency based in Southern Arizona. Prior to joining the Sentinel, Nintzel spent more than three decades as a reporter and editor with Tucson Weekly, covering politics, science and rock ’n’ roll. He has been named a journalist of the year by the Arizona Press Club and the Arizona Newspaper Association and has won more than 50 state and national awards for his work. He has previously worked for the local PBS affiliate, hosting a weekly political roundtable, and has appeared on CBS, ABC, CNN and other national news networks as well as various NPR affiliates. He taught government reporting at the University of Arizona Journalism School for more than 15 years.

Patrick Sloan-Turner

Patrick Sloan-Turner covers education in Victoria, Texas, and its surrounding communities for the Victoria Advocate, the second oldest paper in the Lone Star State. Prior to joining the Advocate, Sloan-Turner covered university governance at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois for the school’s student-run independent newspaper, The DePaulia. There, he also covered topics like Chicago politics, crime, healthcare and others, while serving as the outlet’s Online Managing Editor. Prior to his pursuit of a bachelor’s in journalism at DePaul, Sloan-Turner worked as a stringer at his hometown newspaper, the Lansing State Journal in Lansing, Michigan. It was there that he was first inspired to become a journalist after witnessing the Journal’s impressive coverage of the Larry Nassar scandal at Michigan State University.

Bri Hatch

Bri Hatch covers education disparities in Baltimore, Maryland for WYPR 88.1, the local NPR station. Before joining the WYPR team, Hatch reported on college student well-being and diversity initiatives for The Chronicle of Higher Education, and rural Virginia education tensions for the Rockbridge Report. Hatch earned a Hearst feature writing award for their 2022 Chronicle of Higher Education story detailing the twisty journey of a donated 'Wizard of Oz' dress. Hatch served as the editor-in-chief of their college newspaper, The Ring-tum Phi, and investigated contentious Title IX policies and hazing allegations among a wide variety of other topics. They earned a degree from Washington and Lee University in journalism and American politics, with a minor in poverty and human capability studies. Outside of the newsroom, Hatch is an avid concert-lover, a longtime runner, and a cozy coffee shop enthusiast.

The Lens

The Lens is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public-interest digital newsroom, dedicated to investigative and explanatory journalism. Its mission is to educate, engage and empower the people of New Orleans by providing the information and analysis necessary to advocate for more accountable and just governance. The Lens grew out of a citizen journalist’s drive to track demolitions after Hurricane Katrina.
Adrian Ashford headshot

Adrian Ashford

Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News. Prior to joining The Dallas Morning News, Adrian worked as a co-op for The Boston Globe and interned with Washington Monthly, The Delaware News Journal, and Philadelphia Magazine. Adrian majored in Social Studies at Harvard University and wrote a senior thesis on religious liberty and evolving interpretations of the First Amendment. He also served as an executive editor, Arts Chair, and magazine staff writer for his student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. In 2023, Adrian was named a finalist for the Society of Professional Journalists’ cultural criticism award for his arts criticism at The Boston Globe. Outside of work, Adrian loves dancing, camping, and getting lost in a good TV show.

Mirtha Donastorg

Mirtha Donastorg reports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She is a journalist with experience in TV, digital and radio, and was most recently an associate producer at CNN Digital where she helped curate multiple homepage platforms, as well as craft breaking news alerts viewed by millions daily. As a researcher for CNN, Donastorg fact-checked scripts from correspondents all over the globe and most notably, reported on the conviction of an abusive Catholic priest. Outside of work, she shares her love of soul music from around the world as a host of a weekly two-hour local radio show. Donastorg grew up in Auburn, Alabama. She’s a proud alumna of North Carolina State University, and is fluent in Spanish and French.

Longview News-Journal

The Longview News-Journal is part of third-generation, family-owned community newspaper and multimedia news organization. We are committed to digital-first community journalism—not just reporting the news, but also holding officials accountable for their actions. We work to keep the public informed of the news through our print and digital platforms. We strive to be fair, accurate and respectful while reporting the news, from hard-hitting investigations to the daily news and features. Our goal is to use all available journalism tools in the service of reporting on, and bettering, our community.

Adrianna Adame

Adrianna Adame covers Indigenous Democracy across the state of North Dakota for Buffalo's Fire. While in Bismarck, she will be reporting on voting rights, tribal council, school board and rural co-op meetings, tribal college stories and K-12 education. Prior to joining Buffalo's Fire, Adame graduated with her Masters in Journalism from Syracuse University's S.I. School of Public Communication, where she was a Newhouse Minority Fellow and intern at Syracuse.com In Syracuse, she reported on stories from underrepresented communities in Central New York, as well as arts and entertainment. Adame has also contributed and written for local and editorial sites such as POPSUGAR, the Stand, NPR Next Gen and Flique Editorial. Throughout her undergrad years, she also held the positions of Managing and News Editor for The Cougar Chronicle, California State San Marcos' student newspaper, where she lead, edited, reported and most importantly, first became passionate about journalism. Since her days at The Cougar Chronicle, she's has been determined to work in local journalism, primarily focusing on diverse communities. Adame is Mexican American and a proud member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy, Montana.