2025-2026

Erick Solorzano

Erick Solorzano is a visual journalist at WSLS-TV covering personal finance. Prior to joining RFA, Solorzano pursued a career in marketing and communications, serving in key roles for a private corporation and a mission-driven nonprofit. Solorzano’s dream of becoming a journalist began at the University of Georgia, where he graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's of arts from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications. As a first-generation college student, Solorzano discovered his passion for storytelling by becoming a student news contributor for The Red & Black newspaper and a student news reporter for Grady Newsource, the university’s student-run television news program. Although his post-graduate career began in other professional industries, Erick Solorzano never lost sight of what becoming a journalist meant to him and the community he serves. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he created The Solo Segment, an independent social media news channel covering important news events in Georgia and the world. Today, he’s proud and grateful to transition from independent journalism into a staff journalist role.

Graham Krewinghaus

Before joining Nogales International, Krewinghaus reported as a summer intern for VTDigger and the Cape Cod Times. He recently graduated from Georgetown University, where he studied Spanish and journalism. There, he was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Voice, the student newsmagazine. Having grown up in the Boston area, Krewinghaus is a vocal fan of the Celtics and plays basketball in his free time. He speaks Spanish fluently and Portuguese conversationally.

Dylan Wickman

Before joining Today’s News-Herald, Wickman was a journalism student at Arizona State University pursuing his bachelor’s degree. During his time at the university, he held several internships in the journalism industry, including as a breaking news reporter for The Arizona Republic, a photographer at Cronkite News, a marketing communications coordinator for ASU’s Educational Outreach and Student Services Department, and a content producer for Sport Endorse in Dublin, Ireland. He hopes to continue serving as a vessel for people to tell their stories through his role as an education reporter.

Amanda Venclovaite Pirani

Prior to joining Report for America, Pirani interned for New Hampshire Public Radio were she reported on topics ranging from state policy to backyard beekeeping. She also previously covered the New Hampshire statehouse and environmental issues interning for the New Hampshire Bulletin. In 2023, Pirani covered Republican campaigns freelancing for The New York Times. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and creative writing from the University of Michigan, where she covered the city of Ann Arbor for the Michigan Daily. When she's not reporting, Pirani enjoys hiking mountains and writing poetry

Jaylin R. Smith

Making funny videos and engaging audiences for prospects were skills Jaylin Smith learned from her graduate experience at the University of Mississippi in Journalism and New Media. While receiving her Master’s degree, the scholar worked as a graduate assistant for the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. There, Smith started her career as a multimedia journalist and researcher, presenting her work at conferences for the Broadcast Education Association and the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Her love for diversity and passion for representation and visibility of Black culture allowed her to be chosen as a 2024 TEDx Speaker, giving a talk about the importance of respecting Black women’s hair. Smith’s strong foundation for journalistic excellence and community involvement began at her beloved HBCU, Mississippi Valley State University. Leading up to her role as the Delta reporter at the Mississippi Free Press, Smith worked as a car saleswoman at Cannon Chevrolet in her hometown of Greenwood, Miss.

Gabrielle Nelson

Before joining Buffalo's Fire, Gabrielle Nelson worked as an environmental reporting intern at the nonprofit publication Bridge Michigan, covering climate change, renewable energy and the Great Lakes. At Bridge, she broke the story on an International Energy Forum report about a looming copper shortage, which prompted discussion in the mining and EV industries. Nelson loves learning something new with every environmental story she writes, but before she found this love for environmental journalism, she wrote for her college radio station, Impact89FM, covering entertainment news. She also trained as a live DJ for the station where she often played songs by Pearl Jam and Coldplay. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism and minors in global studies and gender studies. Nelson hopes to combine her love of environmental journalism with her narrative writing style from entertainment news to tell the stories of North Dakota's indigenous communities and their deep ties to the land at Buffalo's Fire.

Russell Sun Eagle

Prior to joining Crosswinds News, Russell traveled the state of Oklahoma capturing stories of Indigenous athletes. In 2021, he created the Okie Podcast, showcasing indigenous actors, athletes, comedians, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, and musicians from across the United States. Russell attended the Institute of American Indian Arts, studying Cinematic Arts. Russell won host of the year in 2023, and best documentary short award at the Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival in 2024. He loves creating and learning, working on his passion projects, and helping people in any way he can.

Justin O’Connor

Prior to joining Report for America, O’Connor produced data-driven investigations as an intern for The Buffalo News and in-depth feature stories as a reporter for the Rochester Beacon in New York. He has covered everything from the Starbucks unionization movement to pro-Palestine protests and local housing issues. His journalism career started when he joined the Campus Times at the University of Rochester as a first-year student and dove into coverage of the city’s Black Lives Matter protests before going on to become a staple in the paper’s news and features sections. He served as news editor, managing editor, and editor-in-chief for the paper, winning two New York Press Association awards along the way — one for producing the best college newspaper feature story in the state in 2022 and another for leading the state’s second-best overall college newspaper in 2024. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English: Language, Media, and Communications from the University of Rochester.

Annie Barker

Annie Barker is a 25-year-old freelance photojournalist and Michigan State University graduate with two bachelor's degrees in journalism and creative advertising. Previously, she was a staff photographer at The Everett Herald and a photo intern at Detroit Free Press, Grand Rapids Press, and Deseret News, as well as a photo fellow with Boyd's Station. Annie has attended the Eddie Adams Workshop and the Missouri Photo Workshop. Between taking photos, you can find Annie with her partner, preventing squabbles between their cats, Marinara and Pesto, or looking to set the high-score on Pac-Man at the local arcade.

Jolan Kruse

Prior to joining Buffalo's Fire, Jolan Kruse interned with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and WISN Channel 12 News, where she covered Milwaukee schools, breaking news and the Republican National Convention. She most recently reported on Second Look Legislation and Juvenile Life Without Parole laws for the O'Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism. Jolan was part of the Marquette University class of 2025, graduating with honors in journalism and social welfare and justice. She also studied abroad in South Africa where she immersed herself in the local community as a volunteer teaching 4th-grade English while taking classes at the University of Western Cape.