WRITING

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.

Dylan Wickman

Before joining Today’s News-Herald, Wickman was a journalism student at Arizona State University pursuing his bachelor’s degree. During his time at the university, he held several internships in the journalism industry, including as a breaking news reporter for The Arizona Republic, a photographer at Cronkite News, a marketing communications coordinator for ASU’s Educational Outreach and Student Services Department, and a content producer for Sport Endorse in Dublin, Ireland. He hopes to continue serving as a vessel for people to tell their stories through his role as an education reporter.

Daniel Schoenherr

Daniel Schoenherr is a multimedia reporter and recent graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Journalism. Before joining Cadillac News, he reported for the Detroit Free Press through the American Communities Project, covering the cultural, socioeconomic and political shifts impacting working-class Michigan. At Bridge Michigan, he tracked municipal opioid settlement spending and helped uncover $90 million in unspent funds. Inspired by Bridge’s nonprofit funding model, he created and led a new role at the student-run State News—newsletter director—spearheading donation campaigns that raised thousands. Most recently, he contributed statewide reporting to more than a dozen Michigan news outlets through Capital News Service. Schoenherr first found his passion for local journalism as news director of WSDP Plymouth, where he kept the metro Detroit community informed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Outside the newsroom, he explores trails and waterways by foot, bike and kayak.

Erica Little

Before joining Casa Grande Dispatch as an education reporter, Little built a strong foundation in data and investigative journalism as a graduate student at the University of Missouri. Previously, she earned her Bachelor of Journalism summa cum laude, with minors in Leadership and Public Service, Latin American Studies and Political Science, as well as a Multicultural Studies Certificate. At the Columbia Missourian, she co-authored an investigative piece on the long delay in launching Columbia’s police co-responder program. As a recipient of the Larry J. Waller Fellowship in Investigative Reporting, she also examined the impact of a rural hospital closure on the local community. Little is dedicated to delivering clear, in-depth, trustworthy journalism.

Sophia Kalakailo

Before joining City Bureau, Sophia Kalakailo reported on the Ypsilanti, Michigan area for MLive. She covered homelessness, dire conditions in one of the city’s largest apartment complexes, excessive flooding in predominantly Black and low-income neighborhoods and raids of pro-Palestine protesters’ homes in late April. As a college freshman, she served as the news editor for Eastern Michigan University’s student newspaper, The Eastern Echo. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in documentary film from Michigan State University. As an editor at The State News, she oversaw an investigation revealing allegations that one Title IX executive slowed crucial civil rights and sexual misconduct investigations. Interning at the nonprofit newsroom Bridge Michigan and the statewide NPR station Michigan Public, Kalakailo covered misinformation and cultural divides over the state’s reintroduced wolf population. She also followed the late Dr. Robert Anderson sexual abuse scandal at the University of Michigan and the unionization of Starbucks workers across the state.

Justin O’Connor

Prior to joining Report for America, O’Connor produced data-driven investigations as an intern for The Buffalo News and in-depth feature stories as a reporter for the Rochester Beacon in New York. He has covered everything from the Starbucks unionization movement to pro-Palestine protests and local housing issues. His journalism career started when he joined the Campus Times at the University of Rochester as a first-year student and dove into coverage of the city’s Black Lives Matter protests before going on to become a staple in the paper’s news and features sections. He served as news editor, managing editor, and editor-in-chief for the paper, winning two New York Press Association awards along the way — one for producing the best college newspaper feature story in the state in 2022 and another for leading the state’s second-best overall college newspaper in 2024. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English: Language, Media, and Communications from the University of Rochester.

Debadrita Sur

Before joining Report for America, Debaditra Sur graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, where she reported on housing and homelessness, and co-produced a short documentary on food insecurity in the South Bronx. After graduating, she joined The Buffalo News as a general assignment reporter, covering daily breaking news and long-term enterprise stories on pedestrian safety, homelessness in Erie County, and Jewish and Arab families in Western New York reacting to the Middle East conflict. She later joined Reach PLC in New York City, where she worked on tight deadlines to cover the Trump administration. She grew up in Kolkata, India, and completed her undergraduate degree in English literature from Presidency University, while also working for a London-based cultural magazine, Far Out, on the side. When she's not reporting, Sur makes adventure bucket lists or plays with her cat, Mountain Dew.

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.

Graham Krewinghaus

Before joining Nogales International, Krewinghaus reported as a summer intern for VTDigger and the Cape Cod Times. He recently graduated from Georgetown University, where he studied Spanish and journalism. There, he was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Voice, the student newsmagazine. Having grown up in the Boston area, Krewinghaus is a vocal fan of the Celtics and plays basketball in his free time. He speaks Spanish fluently and Portuguese conversationally.

Oona Wood Milliken

Before joining The Nevada Independent, Oona Milliken was a student journalist at Columbia Journalism School, where she covered politics, housing and business. Prior to that, she worked as a metro reporter and freelancer in New York City. She holds an undergraduate degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles, where she first fell in love with journalism.