BoCo community foundation forms reporting fellowship

BOULDER — Twelve people will populate the first cohort of the Community Foundation of Boulder County’s new reporting fellowship program.

The fellowship is a collaborative, year-long training for people interested in reporting in depth on the community’s social, economic and environmental health. 

“Our goal for the fellowship is to support journalists, communications professionals and storytellers in honing their skills to produce stories that inform and inspire public attitudes about issues of pressing community-wide concern,” Chris Barge, vice president of strategic initiatives for the community foundation, said in announcing the program. “This aligns with the foundation’s vision to support a more equitable Boulder County.”

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The 12 participants come from a range of backgrounds and professional disciplines, some currently involved in journalism and some not.  

Fellows will study the four pillars of solutions reporting developed by The New York Times, and as presented by the Solutions Journalism Network. The virtual learning opportunity will feature monthly workshops conducted by nationally recognized experts, including the Free Press News Voices program, which teaches community organizing techniques to help storytellers lift up under-represented voices. Denver-based Building Bridges will offer anti-oppression training.

The initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Members of the cohort are:

Will Betke-Brunswick is a transgender and nonbinary cartoonist, and a recent graduate of the California College of the Arts MFA in Comics program. 

Shay Castle, a Boulder-based journalist who has been covering business, government and other issues for eight years. She publishes Boulder Beat News.

Stacy Feldman is an editor with expertise in climate change issues and experience in journalism entrepreneurship and solutions. She co-founded InsideClimate News (ICN).

Lucy Haggard is a staff writer for the Colorado Sun. Previously, she interned with KGNU Community Radio and the Boulder Daily Camera. 

Sabine Kortals Stein is principal of SabineInk LLC.  Previously, she served as senior communications officer for The Colorado Trust.

Rossana Longo is a bilingual equity reporter at KGNU. She is a multiethnic immigrant woman from Ecuador, with dual citizenship. 

Jennifer E. Mabry holds a doctorate in communication from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a critic and media scholar who writes about the intersections of race, gender, and media in popular culture.

Mar Matlak was born in Puebla, México, where she attended the Autonomous University Benemérita of Puebla obtaining a degree in Translation while working as a journalist. Mar is an artist, a community activist and educator with more than 10 years of international experience. Silvana Munro was born in Peru and most of her life she has dedicated it to community work. 

Glenda Russell has lived most of her adult life in Boulder County. She recently retired from her work as a psychologist. 

Silvia Solis currently works with The Longmont Leader, a new local digital publication. She focuses primarily on the Latino population. 

Chris Weidner is a journalist, author and climber based in Boulder. Since 2007 he has authored the only newspaper climbing column in the country, with more than 330 articles for the Daily Camera. 

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