The Asian American Journalists Association is excited to announce the 2024 cohort of AAJA VOICES, a multimedia journalism fellowship that accelerates the skills of college journalists by pairing them with professional editors. This year’s VOICES cohort will be led by a highly accomplished group of journalism professionals.
AAJA’s VOICES program has offered student journalists a chance to develop reporting and leadership skills with industry professionals for the last 34 years. VOICES alumni have moved on to work for a wide range of prominent news organizations, including CNN, the Los Angeles Times and the Texas Tribune.
Meet the 2024 VOICES leadership team:
Mallory Carra (she/her) is a freelance journalist, podcast producer, NBCU Academy contributing writer, and USC adjunct journalism professor with nearly 20 years of editorial experience. Previously, she worked at Bustle, E! News, Spotify and served as an editor/mentor for the 2023 VOICES program. She is also a 2023 ELP graduate.
Jovelle Tamayo (they/she) is a Seattle-based multimedia editor at The Marshall Project. Previously, she contributed photos to a variety of publications, from legacy news outlets to hyperlocal nonprofit newsrooms. They have worked to make the visual journalism industry more equitable as a founding member of the Authority Collective and a co-author of the Photo Bill of Rights. Jovelle is also an adjunct professor of visual journalism at the University of Washington and a youth media teaching artist.
Gwendolyn Wu (she/her) was part of the 2018 VOICES student cohort in Houston. She is a reporter at BioPharma Dive, where she covers biotech startups and venture capital. Previously, she worked at the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle, and served as co-director of the AAJA Young Professionals Network.
Mallory, Jovelle and Gwendolyn will serve as VOICES co-leads for the 2024 student cohort.
After a competitive application process, AAJA is also excited to announce the cohort selected to participate in the 2024 VOICES program. This year’s program will consist of months-long training and project work that begins in late spring and culminates at the AAJA 2024 Convention in Austin, Texas this summer. We’re looking forward to seeing the impactful work these young journalists produce as they build community with each other and cultivate leadership skills under the mentorship of experienced editors.
AAJA is proud to accept the following students for VOICES 2024:
2024 VOICES COHORT:
Katelyn Do, University of Southern California
Muzna Erum, University of Toronto
Irene Kim, University of Southern California
Angela Lim, University of Texas at Austin
Isaiah Mallari, California State University, Fullerton
Chrissy Park, University of California, Irvine
John Patu, University of Hawaiʻi – Hilo
Sonia A. Rao, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hope Saena, Santa Clara University
Isabel Cabañero Smith, University of Washington
Solomon O. Smith, California State University, Northridge
Lily Speredelozzi, George Washington University
Chaya Tong, Emory University
Senji Torrey, University of California, San Diego
Isaac Yu, Yale University
Lajward Zhara, Rice University
2024 VOICES EDITORS:
Kirkland An, Newsroom Developer, Boston Globe
Janhvi Mohan Bhojwani, News Reporter, NBC
Jireh Deng, Video Fellow, Los Angeles Times
Ali Gostanian, Senior Reporter/Weekend Manager, Social Newsgathering, NBC News
Jeong Park, Assistant Metro Editor, Seattle Times
Omar Rashad, Government Accountability Reporter, Fresnoland
Nomin Ujiyediin, Journalist, KCUR
Paolo Zialcita, Reporter, Colorado Public Radio
ABOUT VOICES
VOICES is a student fellowship program that equips student journalists with skills to succeed in the continually evolving media landscape. The program aims to help journalists understand how audiences engage with them, how communities view the work they produce, and how they can understand the impact of their work. By nurturing relationships between students and professional volunteers, VOICES gives fellows the opportunity to tap into editors’ networks and grow their own. Learn more here, and see past student work on the VOICES website.
