WRITING

Jacob Resneck

Jacob Resneck covers state government for Wisconsin Watch, a nonprofit newsroom run by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Before this, he was regional news director for CoastAlaska, a public media collaborative in southeast Alaska. Resneck spent several years working in Germany and as an Istanbul-based freelancer covering Eastern Europe, the Middle East and post-Soviet space for national publications and radio outlets. Closer to home, he’s written for newspapers large and small (but mostly small) and regional magazines. He was an Austria Fellow with the International Center for Journalists, and recently finished his second term as a board member of the Alaska Press Club, which trains journalists and advocates for First Amendment rights in the 49th state. Resneck is married and has two children.

Joseph Cappelletti

Joey Cappelletti is the state government reporter for The Associated Press in Lansing, Michigan. Before joining the AP, he was a reporter at two newspapers in central and eastern Oregon, where he wrote multiple investigative pieces that were published throughout the state. Cappelletti holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in international studies from the University of Oregon. While there, he was an opinion writer for the student paper, and hosted a radio show, interviewing local musicians, leaders and athletes.

Luis Joel Mendez Gonzalez

Luis Joel Méndez González covers government preparedness around climate change for the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, a nonprofit investigative news organization. Born and raised in Moca, Puerto Rico, he was a ProPublica Emerging Reporter in 2019, and a Google News Initiative Fellow in 2020. Méndez González, an LGBTQIA+ first-generation college graduate, has interned with The Miami Herald I-Team, El Nuevo Día Investigative and Data Unit, and Metro Puerto Rico. As a freelancer he has reported for international media outlets. Méndez González holds a master's degree in information design and data visualization from Northeastern University. In his free time, he enjoys reading and writing, and he also loves beauty pageants and coffee.

Noah Biesiada

Noah Biesiada is a reporter for Voice of OC, a digital news outlet in Orange County, California, one of the largest counties in the U.S. This new Report for America position allows him to continue working for this nonprofit publication. Biesiada covers the communities of south Orange County, reporting on city councils, municipal agencies, disasters and education. In his time at the Voice, Biesiada has won state and local awards for his coverage of local politics, failed disaster communication and education reporting, along with reporting an investigative series on misuses of taxpayer dollars. Holding a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton, Biesiada worked at the college paper, the Daily Titan, and served as the lead news editor on several major breaking news events.

Santiago Ochoa

Santiago Ochoa is a bilingual journalist covering health care access at the Yakima Herald-Republic in Yakima, Washington. Before joining the Herald, Ochoa reported for Flint Beat in Flint, Michigan, covering the city’s Latino population—health care, education, community building and more, and winning top honors in the Michigan Press Association’s feature category. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint, where he was editor-in-chief of the school’s paper, The Michigan Times. When he’s not working, Ochoa enjoys cross-country trips on his motorcycle, going to the movies, reading and skiing.

Victoria Franco

Victoria Franco is a disabled bilingual reporter based in Stockton, California, covering the news around San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its Local News Matters, a nonprofit news site. She is a research fellow at the Starling Lab for Data Integrity, which was co-founded by Stanford University and the University of Southern California. A San Jose State University alumna, Franco served as the managing editor of her student paper, the Spartan Daily. She helped lead her staff to the California College Media Association Awards, earning first place in general excellence. In her spare time, Franco enjoys traveling to Europe with her mother.

Ari Fife

Ari Fife covers issues of race and equity across the state for Oklahoma Watch, a nonprofit investigative newsroom based in Oklahoma City. A recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in political science and international studies. While there, Fife worked for the OU Daily, the student publication, as a senior reporter, managing editor and summer editor-in-chief, and she interned at The Frontier, a nonprofit investigative newsroom in Oklahoma. Fife has studied Spanish for about seven years and is eager to improve her skills.

Claire Rush

Claire Rush reports on state government for The Associated Press in Portland, Oregon. Prior to joining the AP, Rush lived in France for nine years. She worked for France 24 television and Radio France Internationale, state-funded international news broadcasters, in various roles—news desk reporter, anchor and producer. Fluent in French, Rush earned a master’s degree in journalism from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where she double majored in geography and French. Rush loves maps and cooking.

Eva Tesfaye

Eva Tesfaye covers air and water quality from Kansas City, Missouri for Harvest Public Media, a collaborative network of reporters and stations in the Midwest. She is part of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, a reporting network across the Basin. Prior to this, Tesfaye was a producer at NPR’s daily science podcast “Short Wave.” As an NPR Kroc fellow, she produced for “Weekend Edition,” reported for NPR’s national desk, helped start a podcast about the federal executions carried out under the Trump administration for NPR member station WFIU, and reported from Birmingham, Alabama for the regional collaboration, the Gulf States Newsroom. Tesfaye joined NPR after graduating from Columbia University with a bachelor’s in English and a minor in French and Francophone studies.

James Pollard

James Pollard covers state government and inequality for The Associated Press in Columbia, South Carolina. Before joining the Report for America corps, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science at Northwestern University. There, he served as managing editor of The Daily Northwestern and worked as a research assistant in the political science department. Pollard has reported on Texas politics and policy as a fellow with The Texas Tribune, interned on the NBCUniversal digital team, and covered his hometown of St. Louis as an intern with the Riverfront Times. In his free time, Pollard enjoys playing guitar, cooking and hiking.