Missouri

Rose LaForest

Rose LaForest is a multi-media journalist at Nine PBS. Prior to this role, LaForest produced video explainers for WSLS-TV in Roanoke, Virginia, as part of an experimental program testing storytelling strategies for video journalists in local newsrooms. In 2024, she earned her master’s degree in broadcast and video journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she produced short documentaries on dementia-related wandering, juvenile incarceration, and even traveled to Argentina to cover the shifting cultural attitudes toward women in male-dominated sports. LaForest previously interned at Detroit PBS, producing stories and coordinating digital content. Her journalism career began when she found non-fiction storytelling through a film history class while studying TV and film production at Michigan State University. As she learned more about the medium, LaForest says it helped her find a natural way to become involved and contribute to her community.

Savvy Sleevar

Prior to joining the Southeast Missourian, Savvy Sleevar served as a Dunn Fellow for Communications and Digital Media at the Office of the Illinois Governor. Before that, Sleevar covered rural health disparities with a cohort of reporters for the Columbia Missourian and Investigate Midwest. Her team's reporting on the intersection of pesticide use, high cancer rates and health inequities in Missouri communities earned a 2025-26 Hearst Journalism Award for Investigative Reporting. Sleevar also covered higher education for the Columbia Missourian, and she penned several feature pieces as a city life reporter for Vox Magazine. Sleevar graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri, earning her Bachelor of Journalism with a minor in history.

Nine PBS

Nine PBS is a community-owned, community-driven institution providing the highest-quality, non-commercial media in its region. Nine PBS believes inspiring connection and action for the 2.8 million people in the St. Louis metro region on the platforms they prefer – whether that’s broadcast, social media or digital streaming. Through community engagement, Nine PBS works with the community to address issues that matter most to them.

Southeast Missourian

Started in 1904, the Southeast Missourian, founded in 1904, is a family-owned, community newspaper focused on hyper-local news, features and sports coverage.

The Kansas City Star

The Kansas City Star is the largest media organization covering the Kansas City region, which encompasses Kansas and Missouri. We cover both statehouses. The Star was founded in 1880 as "a paper for the people," a mission that continues today. We strive to tell stories that affect the lives of Kansas Citians and beyond.  

Wendy Todd

Wendy Todd is a St. Louis-based writer and reporter.. Prior to joining The St. Louis American, she worked for Community News, a hyperlocal newspaper in St. Louis covering North St. Louis. Her previous experience includes writing for the University of Missouri–St. Louis news site and quarterly magazine, and handling communications for various nonprofits. After freelancing for years writing culture pieces for outlets including Ebony.com, HuffPost and The Washington Post, Todd joined St. Louis Public Radio as a social media coordinator, creating content focused on socioeconomic disparities among African Americans in St. Louis, with additional news reporting. She earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Todd also completed fellowships with the Maynard Institute of Journalism Education and the Google News Initiative.

Zoe Lewis

Zoe Lewis is a 2025 journalism graduate from Murray State University. She has been passionate about journalism since she was a curious, young girl watching the morning news. Prior to joining Southeast Missourian, she worked at WKMS, an NPR affiliate radio station, during her college career where she has reported on government and politics, criminal justice and education. She recently received 13th place for the Hearst Journalism Awards Program in the audio competition for her work at WKMS. Lewis loves to read, watch movies and play with her dog.

The St. Louis American

The St. Louis American is a weekly newspaper established in 1928. It has grown to become the largest weekly in the state and a leading voice for the African-American community in the St. Louis area.

Southeast Missourian

Started in 1904, the Southeast Missourian, founded in 1904, is a family-owned, community newspaper focused on hyper-local news, features and sports coverage.
Avery Martinez headshot

Avery Martinez

Avery Martinez is currently the water, ag & environment reporter for KMOV-TV in St. Louis, Missouri. He has worked in television, radio and newsprint across multiple states and markets. He brings a community approach to reporting. He cut his teeth in smaller family papers, before working in major syndicates and networks. Martinez has been a mental health correspondent, anchor, producer, legal staff writer, immigration specialist, editor, campaign correspondent and columnist—in addition to covering city, state and federal courts and legislatures. He was the first graduate of Fort Lewis College’s Journalism and Mass Media Studies program. Martinez has won awards and fellowships for his international coverage of healthcare systems, election committees, immigrant legal representation and the future of law school exams.