WRITING

Lia Salvatierra

Lia Salvatierra

Lia Salvatierra covers all local government for the Ouray Plaindealer. Prior to joining the Plaindealer, she reported for a number of non-profit news organizations, including an internship at Wyofile, where she reported on Wyoming's education systems and Latinx and Indigenous communities. She has completed additional research internships from Minneapolis, MN, to Berlin, Germany. Lia is a California native and recent graduate from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. When she’s not hopping on an interview, she loves leading outdoor excursions from North Carolina’s mountains to beaches for her peers.
Esteban Candelaria

Esteban Candelaria

Esteban Candelaria covers child welfare and the state Children, Youth, and Families Department for The Santa Fe New Mexican. He is based in Albuquerque. Prior to joining The New Mexican, he covered education at the Albuquerque Journal. There, he tackled accountability stories about the state education department's administration of services for students to stories about the proliferation of guns in Albuquerque schools. Before the Journal, he covered criminal justice and the local courts at The Colorado Springs Gazette. Esteban graduated with a bachelor's degree from Colorado College, where he also won an award for his time and contributions to student journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elise Plunk

Elise Plunk

Before joining Louisiana Illuminator, Plunk earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida, where she worked as editor-in-chief of Atrium magazine, a narrative nonfiction outlet on campus. She also worked as an environmental communications intern for the Thompson Earth Systems Institute, where she wrote feature stories and produced social media content on environmental topics relevant to Floridians, and as a climate journalist fellow at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Plunk's favorite class in college was environmental journalism, where she learned to connect her passion for the natural world with her studies in reporting. When she isn't working, she loves making art from upcycled materials.
Gisselle Medina

Gisselle Medina

Gisselle Medina covers religion, culture and community development in the Central Valley for Fresnoland. Prior to joining Report for America, Medina built an education beat from scratch at The Frisc, a small newsroom in San Francisco. Their work has been published in the L.A. Times, The Oaklandside, The Daily Californian, Greater Good Science Center, and much more. Medina was a 2023 White House Correspondents' Association scholarship recipient and was part of the 2023 NAHJ and NLGJA student projects. Medina received a master's degree in journalism, with concentrations in investigative reporting and multimedia, from UC Berkeley, where they also studied English as an undergraduate. Originally from Los Angeles, Medina lived in Fresno for 10 years, where they cultivated a passion for helping people while residing in a room and board facility and uncovering the disparities faced by the residents. Outside of work, Medina loves to spend time with loved ones, playing board games, dancing to music, traveling to new places, and reading poetry.
Isabella Aldrete

Isabella Aldrete

Isabella Aldrete is a bilingual journalist for The Nevada Independent. She covers political races up and down the ticket, as well as the Legislature and how policies affect Latinos. Prior to joining Report for America, Aldrete interned for NBC News. There, she covered everything from Sam Altman’s investments to the CHIPs Act. Aldrete also worked at the Dow Jones News Fund, covering workplace benefits for Employee Benefit News. She’s a 2024 graduate of Barnard College.

David Mamaril Horowitz

David Mamaril Horowitz covers education at the Bowling Green Daily News in Kentucky. Before joining Report for America, Horowitz covered local news as a freelancer in San Francisco, where he wrote hundreds of articles for outlets such as Mission Local, the San Francisco Examiner, and Hoodline. He is a recent graduate of Lede, the professional program for data journalism at Columbia University. As a tech reporter at Mission Local, he wrote an investigation on pay and transparency at ride-hail companies that went viral. A week later, Uber improved the transparency shortcoming Horowitz had highlighted. In his free time, he learns Spanish and wrangles data for the Data Liberation Project.

Emily Small

Emily Small does accountability reporting on economic disparities and health and human services issues for Door County Knock. She had bee a freelance journalist reporting on county government and local impacts of national issues like substance use disorder and labor shortages for Door County Knock and the Washington Island Observer. She received a first-place Wisconsin Newspaper Association award for Feature Writing in 2023. Small started in journalism as a staff writer and assistant editor for the Washington Island Observer, covering local government, business, features, and writing a bi-weekly personal column. She has a bachelor's degree in English literature and gender studies from Carthage College.

Fernando Figueroa

Fernando Figueroa covers the environment and climate change for The Ithaca Voice in NY. Figueroa previously worked as the environment beat reporter at The Independent Florida Alligator covering local protests, hurricanes, and the University of Florida administrative transition's implications on university climate policy. He also worked at WUFT covering Florida's water quality, Gainesville's regenerative agriculture, and sustainable architecture. Figueroa grew up in Venezuela and is fluent in Spanish. Outside of the newsroom, he loves to cook for his friends and will never miss an opportunity to dance.

Gabriel Sandoval

Gabriel Sandoval covers laws, policies and news emanating from the Arizona Legislature. Arizona has long been an epicenter of the immigration debate in America and has also become a crucial swing state. This reporter covers the politics of the state with a particular emphasis on Latino voters, along with the border and immigration. Before joining AP, Sandoval was a research reporter at ProPublica, contributing to local and national investigations. He also covered politics and housing issues in Brooklyn and Queens for The City, a local news nonprofit. He has taught classes on advanced research techniques at his alma mater, CUNY's Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Born and raised in San Diego, he is fluent in Spanish.

Illan Ireland

Illan Ireland covers environmental threats and challenges facing Mississippi communities at the Mississippi Free Press. Previously, he completed a fellowship at The Futuro Media Group in New York City, taking on projects related to public health, climate change and housing insecurity. Working with Futuro’s investigative unit, he helped uncover significant disparities in mortgage outcomes between white and Latino homebuyers in New Jersey. Ireland holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree from the Columbia Journalism School, where he reported on the escalating drug overdose crisis in New York City and the near collapse of the local shelter system. He’s a native Spanish speaker, a proud Mexican American and a lover of movies, soccer and unreasonably spicy foods.