July 12, 2019

Twenty nonprofit news media outlets, including INN, welcomed back Emma Bowen Foundation Fellows into their organizations for a second summer. The program is part of INN’s strategic initiative to cultivate a diverse talent pipeline essential in propelling the nonprofit sector’s innovation and growth, with generous support from Democracy Fund.  

All but one fellow returned to the same nonprofit news organization.

Fellows, who are college students, are placed inside nonprofit news organizations for eight-week internships focused on news media business, technology and editorial.

The list of participating INN members and fellows are:

BenitoLink
Francisco Romero
San Jose State University, Software Engineering

CALmatters
Adria Watson
Sacramento State University, Journalism

The Center for Public Integrity
Laura Zornosa
Northwestern University, Journalism and International Studies

Chalkbeat
Zipporah Osei
Northeastern University, Journalism

Chalkbeat – Detroit
Imani Harris
Northwestern University, Journalism

Chalkbeat – New York
Camille Respess
University of Florida, Journalism

Charlottesville Tomorrow
Norah Mulinda
University of Virginia, Media Studies and Psychology

The Chicago Reporter
Elly Rivera
Northwestern University, Journalism

The Connecticut Mirror
Maya Moore
University of Connecticut, Journalism

The GroundTruth Project
Milan Polk
Northwestern University, Journalism

Institute for Nonprofit News
Nikita Advani
University of Southern California, Business Administration

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Zshekinah Collier
American University, Justice and Law

Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (Louisville Public Media)
Jewél Jackson
Syracuse University, Newspaper & Online Journalism with a minor in Communication & Rhetorical Studies

MinnPost
Tiffany Bui
University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Professional Journalism

The New Food Economy
Kamari Stewart
Pace University, Digital Journalism

Next City
Natalia Rommen
University of Pennsylvania, Communications and Political Science

Politifact
Sophie Austin
American University, Journalism

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
Domonique Green
Howard University, Graphic Design

Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting
Simmone Shah
Barnard College of Columbia University, English with a Writing Concentration

The Texas Tribune
Troy Closson
Northwestern University, Journalism

The fellows are already making an impact inside INN member organizations.

For Jewél Jackson, a junior majoring in newspaper and online journalism with a minor in communication and rhetorical studies at Syracuse University and an editorial intern with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, this is her first experience inside a nonprofit newsroom.

“Jewél has been an enthusiastic learner this summer, particularly when it comes to producing audio stories and developing new investigative reporting techniques,” said Kate Howard, managing editor at the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. “She is smart, professional, responsive to feedback and committed to growing in her craft.” 

Another intern, Francisco Romero, a software engineering major at San Jose State University, has jumped right in at BenitoLink, according to Leslie David, executive director at the organization.

“We just migrated our site from Drupal to WordPress,” David said. “There are many many small problems with the website and he has helped us mitigate the issues. He is excellent and very easy to work with.”

The Emma Bowen Foundation and INN will jointly seek funding to continue and potentially expand the program in 2020.

About INN:

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a growing national network of more than 200 nonprofit news organizations dedicated to providing investigative and public service reporting. INN was founded in 2009 to foster a new collective of newsrooms serving the public interest. Today it functions as an innovation network, helping members develop new ways to support journalism and engage communities, providing business, technology and leadership support and a framework for collaboration. INN’s work helps newsrooms bring investigative and civic news to more people, hold the powerful accountable and strengthen democracy.

About Emma Bowen Foundation:

Emma Bowen Foundation was founded in 1989 to diversify the media industry by giving talented students the opportunity to intern at some of the nation’s leading media companies. The Foundation has provided internships for more than 1,000 students of color.