WRITING

Lev Gringauz

Before joining Silicon Prairie News, Lev Gringauz reported on the Jewish communities of Minnesota and Cincinnati for Jewfolk, Inc., and was a regular freelancer for MinnPost, covering the business of media in Minnesota. His writing career started with making love songs for high school sweethearts. On a two-year leave of absence from college, he fell into journalism while exploring Ukraine and Belarus, where his parents were born. Lev cut his teeth with internships at The New York Jewish Week and MinnPost. As a freelancer he developed a niche in enterprise philanthropy reporting, while also writing stories on subjects ranging from cybersecurity issues to the intersection of AI and journalism. Lev speaks Russian (begrudgingly), has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota, and his favorite journalism movies are “The Paper” and “Spotlight.”

Priya Shahi

Before joining Rocky Mountain PBS, Priya Shahi was a reporter for the Staten Island Advance, covering public health and human-interest stories, including disparities in maternal health outcomes and the region’s response to the mental health crisis. Her passion for journalism began after moving from Nepal to Queens, New York — one of the world’s most diverse places — where every block held untold stories. Today, she holds a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University.

Vahini Shori

Before joining WBHM, Vahini Shori was a graduate student at Columbia Journalism School, where she reported on arts, culture, ethics, and criminal justice. Her love for audio blossomed while working at Kaleidoscope, a podcast studio based in New York, where she helped produce narrative documentaries on Amazonian chocolate, Afghan musicians, and turbulent space missions. She graduated from Rutgers University with degrees in Political Science and Critical Intelligence. As a proud New Jerseyan, “The Sopranos” is her comfort show. Vahini enjoys reading, creating Spotify playlists, and learning new recipes.

Annie Bresee

Before becoming a Report For America Corp Member, Bresee was the editor of two community newspapers in Georgia and Alabama. While there, she covered issues like the local school boards' efforts to consolidate under a federal desegregation order, citizens protesting a proposed quarry, and abuse in a small town church. Bresee became interested in journalism late in college when she began writing for the university’s newspaper and would later write a long-form feature for her undergraduate thesis. She received her undergraduate degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. 

Lillian Avedian

Lillian Avedian covers education for the Nashville Banner. She is a former assistant editor and staff writer at the Armenian Weekly, where she reported on international politics, women’s rights, and diasporic identity. Her writing and reporting on the Middle East, North Africa, Russia, and the Caucasus has been published in Democracy in Exile, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Hetq, and Girls on Key Press, among other outlets. She has traveled to Morocco to report on the rise of women DJs and LGBTQ rights and to Armenia to cover the regional conflict and displacement crisis. Avedian holds master’s degrees in journalism and Near Eastern studies from New York University and bachelor’s degrees in peace and conflict studies and Slavic studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is also a published poet with a deep love for Armenian feminist poetry.

Reuben M. Schafir

Reuben M. Schafir covers Indigenous communities in Maine for the Portland Press Herald. He previously covered the county government and the environmental beats for the Durango Herald. There, he reported on environmental threats to water in Southwest Colorado, covered the state’s two federally recognized tribes and ensured accountability and transparency on the part of governments and elected officials. He won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association and the Top of the Rockies Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for his reporting on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s experimenting with water-efficient crops, who is harmed when insurance companies and health systems don’t get along, innovative wildfire management practices, election coverage and more. When he’s not working sources, Reuben is an explorer of all things outdoors and likes pickin’ tunes on string instruments.

Amélie Horace

Prior to joining WUSF as an Audience Engagement producer, Amélie Horace reported on local news in Macon, Georgia. As a journalism student at Mercer University, she worked for the Macon Newsroom, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Macon Magazine, Macon Arts Alliance, and interned with local TV station 13WMAZ. She has covered local businesses, breaking news, community events, student programs, local and federal government proceedings, court cases, and profiles. In her senior year of college, she started a podcast on Waffle House stories, set to launch in 2025. She earned her bachelor's in journalism from Mercer University and was the campus news editor of The Cluster, the student newspaper.

Arielle Robinson

Prior to joining the Arkansas Times, Robinson covered general assignment stories for Verite News in New Orleans as a newsroom fellow. She has also freelanced in Georgia for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and covered city council, as well as issues related to race, at the Cobb County Courier. She also has completed a CNN internship and a ProPublica mentorship program. Robinson got her start in journalism at her university newspaper, The Sentinel, where she served as a reporter and editor. While there, she was president of her school’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and a minor in gender and women’s studies from Kennesaw State University. Robinson enjoys reading, spending time in nature and journaling in her free time.

Lyric Aquino

Aquino is an award-winning multimedia journalist with a passion for writing about all things relating to science, the environment and Indian Country. Originally from Ohio, she is a proud member of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo with ancestry from Isleta Pueblo and the Jicarilla Apache Nation. She earned two bachelor’s degrees, in anthropology and journalism, from Kent State University. Aquino holds a master’s degree in science, health and environmental journalism from New York University, where she worked as editor-in-chief for Scienceline and as a science writing intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Prior to joining Underscore Native News, Aquino held a fellowship at Grist, where she reported on climate change and global Indigenous affairs. One of Aquino’s passions is reporting on the intersection of traditional ecological knowledge and Western science, as well as Indigenous litigation and issues. In her spare time, she can be found fawning over reptiles, geeking out over Lord of the Rings and exploring her surroundings.

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.