Virginia

Emma Malinak

Emma Malinak covers the stories of Lynchburg, Virginia, for Cardinal News. Before becoming a Report for America corps member, Malinak reported on everything from climate change to child care as an intern at VTDigger. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and English from Washington and Lee University, where she was co-editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Ring-tum Phi. Malinak was the founding CEO of the Ring-tum Phi, Inc., a nonprofit corporation designed to secure a sustainable financial model and editorial independence for the student-run paper.

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.

Sarah Dolgin

Before joining the Fauquier Times, Sarah Dolgin covered local and statewide politics for the Chattanooga Times Free Press and launched a weekly politics newsletter. She started at the Times Free Press as a digital producer and journalist on the newspaper's web team. As a college newsroom intern for Central Current, Dolgin reported on the stories of Ukrainian refugees who left their homes at the start of the war and stayed with families in Central New York. She holds a dual bachelor's degree in newspaper and online journalism and information management and technology from Syracuse University.

Sinclair Holian

Sinclair Holian covers racial segregation and its lasting effects on Roanoke, Virginia, for The Roanoke Rambler. Before joining Report for America, Holian reported on injustices in her home state of North Carolina. Her work spans a range of issues, including racism in the agriculture industry, barriers to healthcare access, and challenges in public education. Her story, “Land Loss and Legacy on Historic Black-owned Farmland,” won Article of the Year at the 2024 Hearst National Writing Championship in San Francisco. Her reporting has appeared in publications across North Carolina, including The News & Observer, Indy Week, NC Newsline, and more. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2024 as the John Robert Bittner Outstanding Graduating Senior in Journalism, where her minor in social and economic justice fueled her commitment to revealing, in-depth reporting. When she’s not chasing a story, she loves long hikes, open water swimming, and exploring thrift shops.

Dina Weinstein

Prior to joining the Henrico Citizen newsroom, Dina Weinstein reported for Virginia Commonwealth University’s News website focusing on people, programs, trends, and events in higher education. She also spent this year researching, presenting, and publishing stories about VCU’s first Black School of Nursing graduate through a Virginia Humanities fellowship. Weinstein's award-winning articles and interviews have been published in dozens of publications and outlets, including a recent Henrico Citizen series about refugees. Before moving to Richmond, Weinstein advised the student newspaper at Miami-Dade College in South Florida while reporting on higher education, the arts, parenting, civil rights anniversaries, and Jewish life for numerous publications worldwide. Weinstein earned a master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's of fine arts from Boston University. A Spanish speaker, Weinstein enjoys reading, cultural activities, cycling, and nature.

Fauquier Times

Located less than an hour from Washington, D.C., Piedmont Media operates two print and digital news sites serving Prince William and Fauquier counties. The organization has consistently produced award-winning journalism and is financially stable with strong philanthropic support. We are in the midst of a transformation of two traditional weekly newspapers — the Prince William Times and the Fauquier Times — to more strongly connect with readers. We are seeking to grow our coverage of diverse communities.

Charlottesville Tomorrow

Charlottesville Tomorrow is a community-driven, socially conscious news organization and we serve our neighbors by connecting them to each other and to the issues that affect them most. We center our organization and news processes on our values — truth, community and equity — and we work to improve the health of our local news community and ecosystem through our inclusive practices in hiring, journalism and partnership.

WSLS–TV

WSLS-TV, the Graham Media Group station in Roanoke, VA, has been a cornerstone of the Roanoke community since its establishment in 1952 as the region’s first television station. Now, we’re looking to reinvent local broadcast news. As part of an incubator program, we’re hiring three RFA Corps Members to develop local news videos each day, mainly delivered on social media to start. We will analyze daily video experiments, discovering the preferences of our target audience: people in their 30s and 40s who care about their community but don’t connect to existing local news brands. What we learn will help transform WSLS—and the industry.

WSLS–TV

WSLS-TV, the Graham Media Group station in Roanoke, VA, has been a cornerstone of the Roanoke community since its establishment in 1952 as the region’s first television station. Now, we’re looking to reinvent local broadcast news. As part of an incubator program, we’re hiring three RFA Corps Members to develop local news videos each day, mainly delivered on social media to start. We will analyze daily video experiments, discovering the preferences of our target audience: people in their 30s and 40s who care about their community but don’t connect to existing local news brands. What we learn will help transform WSLS—and the industry.

Prince William Times

Located less than an hour from Washington, D.C., Piedmont Media operates two print and digital news sites serving Prince William and Fauquier counties. The organization has consistently produced award-winning journalism and is financially stable with strong philanthropic support. We are in the midst of a transformation of two traditional weekly newspapers — the Prince William Times and the Fauquier Times — to more strongly connect with readers. We are seeking to grow our coverage of diverse communities.