Florida

Charlie McGee

Charlie McGee is an investigative reporter for The Tributary covering systemic problems in Jacksonville, Florida. He previously reported for the Victorville Daily Press in California’s High Desert with exclusive work prompting mass-action lawsuits against Goldman Sachs and Synagro over a sewage-pit fire, an FBI probe of alleged city-hall corruption, and policy changes across San Bernardino County. He has written for outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Rolling Stone magazine and Vice News on topics ranging from questionable COVID-19 spending to renewable-energy debates to CEO pay. He amassed research as assistant to former WSJ reporter Liz Hoffman for her 2023 book, “Crash Landing.” His work as investigations editor for The Daily Tar Heel sparked a campaign-finance investigation in North Carolina and the reversal of a $2.5 million deal between UNC-Chapel Hill and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. McGee has been recognized with honors including second-place in the California News Publishers Association’s 2021 Investigative Reporting competition and second-place in the Associated Collegiate Press’s 2020 Reporter of the Year competition.

Lillian M. Hernández Caraballo

Lillian (Lilly) Hernández Caraballo is a bilingual, multimedia journalist based in Central Florida, reporting for WMFE 90.7 in Orlando. Before joining Report for America, Caraballo was a writer, paginator and editor for the weekly periodical Hometown News and an associate producer for Spectrum News 13, a top 20 TV market. She graduated from University of Central Florida in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, a minor in writing and rhetoric and a certification in Hispanic media. At the school, Caraballo was editor-in-chief of NSM Today, the student newspaper, and interned with several news outlets, including WKMG News 6, WUCF 89.9 and the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. During her time at WUCF, she collaborated to host, manage and web produce the award-winning project "The Road to Freedom Avenue: The Legacy of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore." Her role in that project was instrumental in earning the organization a National Edward R. Murrow Award in 2022, for Excellence in Digital Reporting, among other accolades.

Reagan Ryan

Reagan Ryan covers climate change and the environment across Central Florida as a multimedia journalist for Spectrum News 13 in Orlando, Florida. She recently graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where she earned a master’s degree in investigative journalism. She’s covered public housing as a reporter at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and policing as a data and documentary journalist for the Carnegie-Knight News21 collegiate reporting initiative. She specializes in video and digital storytelling. She also holds a bachelor's degree in English from Florida State University, where she majored in editing, writing and media. Growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida, Creamer became interested in pursuing journalism by watching her local news stations, like News 13, cover hurricanes and storms.

The Tributary

The Tributary is a nonprofit newsroom focused on data-driven investigative reporting about entrenched problems like poverty, injustice and policy—critically important issues that have gone unsolved in Northeast Florida. Based in Jacksonville, The Tributary works to strengthen the area's news ecosystem, collaborating with existing outlets and working to engage the city's diverse communities to improve equity in access to, and demand for, responsive local news.

Central Florida Public Media

Central Florida Public Media provides Central Florida with journalism and fact-based content that empower the community to better understand and participate in our diverse and complex world. We serve Central Floridians who seek unbiased, factual, truthful information and nuanced discussion — people who share a common curiosity and concern about the complex issues and challenges facing our community, nation, and world.

Alice Herman

Alice Herman covers health care for Spectrum News 13, a cable news outlet in Orlando, Florida. Previously, she reported on labor and the workplace as a Leonard C. Goodman investigative reporting fellow with In These Times. Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, Herman has covered Wisconsin politics for local and national political outlets including The Progressive. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Grinnell College.

Ashley Miznazi

Ashley Miznazi covers the Haitian community in the South Florida/Miami area for The Haitian Times, a news organization based in Brooklyn, New York. Previously, Miznazi was a multimedia fellow for The Texas Tribune, where she created short documentaries on Afghan resettlement and the foster care system. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Miznazi worked in the photo and video departments at the student paper, The Daily Texan. She is the host of “Darkness,” a podcast about the 2018 Austin bombings.

Gabriela Szymanowska

Gabriela Szymanowska reports on the judicial system for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Prior to this, she covered breaking news and public safety for the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and electronic media from The University of Tennessee, where she was editor-in-chief of The Daily Beacon, the student paper. Szymanowska earned top honors for features/hard news photography at the 2020 Southeastern Journalism Conference on-site competition. As a fellow in the Carnegie-Knight News21 investigative program, Szymanowska, along with 34 other journalists, investigated juvenile justice in America in the multimedia reporting project, “Kids Imprisoned.” Their work won the 2021 Robert F. Kennedy College Journalism Award. Beyond reporting, she’s passionate about photography and capturing the everyday, ordinary moments of people’s lives.

Gabriella Paul

Gabriella Paul is a journalist at WUSF Public Media, the NPR affiliate in Tampa, Florida, reporting on the people living paycheck to paycheck in the area. Previously, Paul was the digital news editor for WUFT public radio in Gainesville, Florida. Born in Colorado, she grew up in the Tampa Bay region and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in history from the University of Florida. While there, Paul earned two Sunshine State Awards from the Society for Professional Journalism, and co-authored a report on the university’s racial legacies. As a fellow for the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, Paul contributed to an award-winning investigative podcast, “Why Don’t We Know?”

Sam Ogozalek

Sam Ogozalek is a health care reporter focusing on mental health for the Tampa Bay Times in Florida. Previously, he covered COVID-19 and local government for The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette in South Carolina. Hailing from Hancock, New York, a small town along the Delaware River, Ogozalek was editor-in-chief of Syracuse University’s student paper, The Daily Orange, and has interned at the Tampa Bay Times, The Buffalo News and the Naples Daily News.