California

Jamie Jiang

Jamie Jiang covers wildfires in Chico, California for North State Public Radio, which serves Northern California. A recent graduate of UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics, Jiang was the podcasts editor for the student paper, the Daily Bruin, and created and produced podcast episodes for UCLA’s FEM newsmagazine radio program. She has interned with KCUR public radio in Kansas City, Missouri, and her independently written and produced audio history of the University of California Police Department, “Cops On Campus,” will be published in summer 2022. A native Californian, Jiang enjoys early morning birdwatching in her spare time.

Jorge Garcia

Jorge Garcia is a bilingual multimedia journalist for the Visalia Times-Delta in Visalia, California. He hails from Los Angeles, and his passion for storytelling and amplifying the voices of disenfranchised communities are several reasons why he pursued a journalism career. A graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, Garcia has produced video, audio, text, and photojournalism work for various news outlets, including the University Times, Cal State’s student paper, and KQBH radio, and as an intern for EdSource and the Los Angeles Times. He enjoys playing soccer and collecting vintage vinyl records.

Kate Fishman

Kate Fishman covers environmental regulation and natural resources on California’s north coast for The Mendocino Voice, a news site. She has worked as a field editor with Patch Media and covered several towns in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, writing about the volatility of school boards and the impact of COVID-19 and climate change on communities. Fishman’s journalism career started with profile writing for her local paper in New Paltz, New York when she was in high school. At Oberlin College, she reported on arts and culture and eventually became the managing editor of The Oberlin Review, the student paper that serves the city of Oberlin, Ohio. She loves to teach, and practice, writing of all genres.

Kavish Harjai

Kavish Harjai is a data reporter based in Los Angeles and covering state government for The Associated Press. Prior to joining the AP, Harjai freelanced for Bay Area publications while earning his master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University. Before heading west, Harjai lived in New York City, where he worked as a news video producer and writer for NowThis. He holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and French from New York University. In his free time, Harjai enjoys reading (his favorite author is Don DeLillo), playing beach volleyball, listening to house music and making playlist covers.

Lucy Peterson

Lucy Peterson reports on county government for The Mendocino Voice, which covers news across Mendocino County, California. A recent graduate of The University of Kansas, Peterson earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and minored in political science and French. She spent several years reporting for the student paper, The University Daily Kansan, winning local and regional journalism awards, and helped direct coverage that won an Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker Award. In 2021, she was recognized as a White House Correspondents’ Association Scholar for her work at the paper. Peterson has interned at The Kansas City Star, the Dow Jones News Fund, and reported on local businesses in her hometown, Denver, Colorado.

Mara Cavallaro

Mara Cavallaro reports on health in the Latino community in San Francisco for El Tecolote, a bilingual community newspaper. A recent graduate of Brown University, she holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in ethnic studies and international and public affairs. Cavallaro was the managing editor of The College Hill Independent, southern New England's largest alt-weekly paper, run by students from Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design. She was also an editor for Somos Latinx Literary Magazine, a biannual student publication. Cavallaro has performed with the Mezcla Latin Dance Troupe, and also speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Michael Grant

Michael Grant is a photojournalist at Black Voice News, a news site and weekly paper in Riverside, California, and focuses on issues related to the climate and environmental justice. As a freelance photographer, Grant has traveled and lived in a number of places, including Brooklyn, New York, Atlanta, Miami and Ethiopia, investigating and documenting the aesthetics of blackness, class, family, relationships and cultural diversities. His work has been exhibited at the Parsons School of Design and Photoville in New York City, and the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Hampton University.

Noah Biesiada

Noah Biesiada is a reporter for Voice of OC, a digital news outlet in Orange County, California, one of the largest counties in the U.S. This new Report for America position allows him to continue working for this nonprofit publication. Biesiada covers the communities of south Orange County, reporting on city councils, municipal agencies, disasters and education. In his time at the Voice, Biesiada has won state and local awards for his coverage of local politics, failed disaster communication and education reporting, along with reporting an investigative series on misuses of taxpayer dollars. Holding a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton, Biesiada worked at the college paper, the Daily Titan, and served as the lead news editor on several major breaking news events.

Andrea Briseño

Andrea Briseño is an investigative reporter at inewsource, a nonprofit news outlet in San Diego, California. She is fluent in Spanish and covers K-12 education with a focus on Latino families. Previously, Briseño was the equity/underserved communities reporter at The Modesto Bee, where she shed light on communities and issues that had gone underreported in Stanislaus County, California. She also partnered with McClatchy Company staffers from across California to produce Spanish written articles and La Abeja, The Bee’s weekly newsletter centered on topics important to Latinos. A Fresno native, Briseño began her journalism career at The Rampage and The Fresno Bee. She is a graduate of Palomar College community college and San Jose State University.

Sophie Austin

Sophie Austin covers the California Statehouse for The Associated Press in Sacramento. Before joining the AP, Austin was a data fellow at The Center for Public Integrity while earning a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs at American University. She has covered local and environmental news as an intern for The Dallas Morning News, and as an Emma Bowen Foundation Fellow at PolitiFact, she wrote political fact checks and climate policy stories ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Austin holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from American University, where she was editor-in-chief of the Eagle, the student-run newspaper.