PHOTOGRAPHY

Cheney Orr

Prior to joining the Colorado Sun, Cheney Orr worked as a freelance photojournalist whose coverage spanned breaking news and long-term documentary projects. His first photo essay, published by The New York Times in 2018, documented his father’s experience with early-onset Alzheimer’s and helped define the questions that continue to shape his practice. He has since been commissioned to work across the United States, covering natural disasters, the aftermath of mass violence, flashpoints along the U.S.–Mexico border, civil unrest, and political campaigns for outlets including Reuters, Bloomberg, and The New York Times. His photography has received numerous grants and awards, including a Magnum Foundation grant and a 2021 Pulitzer Prize nomination, and is held in the collections of major institutions, including MoMA and the Met.

Elijah de Castro

Elijah de Castro reports on health disparities for WAER, Syracuse Public Media. Prior to WAER, he was the health reporter at The Keene Sentinel, where he led the Monadnock Region Health Reporting Lab, a newsroom journalism project focused on investigative and solutions journalism about New Hampshire’s health care system. Previously, he was a climate fellow at the Solutions Journalism Network and a Report for America corps member in South Carolina, where he was on the rural communities beat covering issues like systemic poverty and gun violence in rural Allendale County. He got his start in journalism as News Editor of The Ithacan, the student newsroom of Ithaca College, where he graduated in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an avid player of pool and ping pong.

Bridget Bennett

Born and raised in Minnesota, Bennett is a visual journalist based in Minneapolis, working in photography and video. Prior to joining MinnPost, she was freelancing in Nevada, covering national politics, labor, and climate across the American West. She is a frequent contributor to national outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Anita Li

Anita Li is the government accountability reporter at Coconut Grove Spotlight. Through Report for America, she previously covered education for the Prince William Times, where she won a Virginia Press Association award for reporting on Venezuelan teachers who lost their Temporary Protected Status. Before joining Report for America, Li interned at Minnesota Public Radio and FOX 5 DC. Her passion for highlighting underrepresented voices started when she interned at WLRN, Miami’s NPR station. Li grew up in Maryland and graduated from Northwestern University, where she reported for The Daily Northwestern. She speaks Mandarin and Spanish, and will never say no to mango pomelo sago or a good story.

Ellen Schmidt

Before joinging the Associated Press, Ellen Schmidt was a visual journalist, CatchLight Local fellow and Report for America corps member at MinnPost. Her career began while earning an undergraduate degree in journalism and art at the University of Minnesota, where she worked as a reporter, photographer and the multimedia editor at the Minnesota Daily student newspaper. Her roles there propelled her to internships at Minnesota Public Radio News, The Minnesota Star Tribune, The Duluth News Tribune and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. In Nevada, her success led to five years as a staff photojournalist visualizing breaking news, community stories, enterprise coverage, the environment and major sporting events.

Sinclair Holian

Sinclair Holian covers development and gentrification for the Coconut Grove Spotlight. Through Report for America, Holian previously covered segregation and its lasting impacts for The Roanoke Rambler in Roanoke, Virginia. Holian studied journalism at UNC Chapel Hill, where she reported on inequalities in the agriculture industry, public education, and healthcare. Her story, “Land Loss and Legacy on Historic Black-owned Farmland,” received the 2024 Article of the Year award from the national Hearst Journalism Awards Program. When she’s not chasing a story, she enjoys swimming, hiking, and exploring local thrift shops.

J. The Jewish News of Northern California

Named the best Jewish news in the United States, J. The Jewish News of Northern California has an 11-person strong editorial staff and a budget of 2.9M. Nonprofit and completely independent, J.'s mission is to inform, connect and strengthen the diverse Jewish community of Northern California. We fulfill that mission by publishing stories daily online and biweekly in print, covering news from antisemitic incidents to relevant legislation to cultural happenings.

Mainstreet Daily News Gainesville

Mainstreet Daily News is laser-focused on local. We keep citizens informed about local news, sports and events, so they can stay safe, cast informed votes, and be a better neighbor in Gainesville and the surrounding area. We work to unify the community by reporting the facts accurately and fairly, so people can draw their own conclusions.

The Colorado Sun

The Colorado Sun is a journalist-founded nonprofit newsroom with a mission that matters: Serving the people of Colorado with independent, community-centered journalism. We translate major topics in ways that make them relatable no matter where in Colorado the reader lives. Our core subjects include politics and policy, culture, the outdoors and the environment, education and the economy.

The Associated Press – Minnesota

The Associated Press is a global news organization that is one of the world's most trusted sources of independent, nonpartisan and factual news in all formats. The AP is located in 100 countries and has journalists in all 50 states. More than half the world's population sees AP journalism every day.