Meet the Fall 2022 Community Reporting Fellows
The cohort will spend the fall documenting stories and resources around mental health care access in New Orleans.
We’re excited to introduce you to our Fall 2022 Community Reporting Fellows!
The Fall 2022 application cycle drew applicants from New Orleans East, Jefferson Parish, and neighborhoods in between, as well as emerging voices from Mississippi, Chicago, St. Louis and Ohio. The six emerging storytellers in this cohort share an interest in writing and multimedia, and a passion for building a more equitable media landscape in and around New Orleans.
They will spend 16 weeks documenting stories around mental health care access in and around New Orleans, while receiving training in multimedia production, storytelling and community reporting. Their focus will be on making media that promotes a dialogue about mental health needs and helps communities of color navigate care. To follow along with our fellows and their reporting, sign up for the fellowship newsletter. Please share any tips or suggestions you have for them by emailing ledeneworleans@gmail.com.
Join us in welcoming our new Fall 2022 Community Reporting Fellows! Scroll down to learn more about the cohort, what they plan to do this fall, what equity in news means to them and how they would spend a perfect day in New Orleans.
Deanna Johns
Meet Deanna Johns, a storyteller based in Slidell and a student at Xavier University. Johns, 25, was born in McComb, Miss., and grew up in the New Orleans area. Johns, an avid traveler, recently conducted audio interviews with New Orleans residents about their international travel experiences for a research project.
What do you hope to get out of your fellowship?
I hope to emerge a better journalist. What that looks like for me is being confident in my interview skills and my ability to write a good story. I also hope to cultivate meaningful relationships with my leaders and fellow cohorts.
Lede New Orleans trains creatives to make equitable media that inspires and informs our city. What does equitable media in New Orleans look like to you?
To me, equitable media looks like a community that is confident in a journalist’s ability to accurately write about its needs and concerns. So many voices go unheard, but it is my belief that all stories matter and that everyone has one.
It’s a perfect sunny and cool fall day in New Orleans. What will we find you doing?
I’m in the city eating breakfast with my mom, dad and three siblings. We enjoy eating out and going shopping together, but most importantly we just enjoy each other’s company
Aretha McKinney
Meet Aretha McKinney, a photographer based in New Orleans and a student at Dillard University. McKinney, 21, was born and raised in St. Louis, Mo. She is photo editor for The Courtbouillon, Dillard’s newspaper.
What do you hope to get out of your fellowship?
I really want to learn as much as I can in the time I have with this team of people. I want to learn from everybody in the program beyond the instructors. I’m hoping that I come out of this fellowship more knowledgeable than before with storytelling skills that can be transferable to other parts of my life and career.
What does equitable media in New Orleans look like to you?
Equitable media is ensuring that people that are from or become a part of certain communities are the ones that are telling the stories of that community. It provides trust and commonality between media outlets and the sources and with those things the stories will be better and make more of a difference.
It’s a perfect sunny and cool fall day in New Orleans. What will we find you doing?
If I’m not working or practicing photography, I would probably get some food with my friends and go eat at the lake or City Park.
Kila Moore
Meet Kila Moore, a journalist based in New Orleans. Moore, 23, is from Jackson, Miss., and currently works in development at Son of a Saint. Moore, a Tulane University graduate, was the first Black news editor of the Tulane Hullabaloo and co-hosted a podcast called Your Token POC with a friend, where they detailed their experience navigating predominantly white spaces as people of color.
What do you hope to get out of your fellowship?
I’m excited to strengthen my photography and videography skills, learn different perspectives from my fellows and the NOLA community, and connect with the city as a whole!
What does equitable media in New Orleans look like to you?
Equitable media in New Orleans is media that is representative of the people living in the city — uplifting their voices, covering topics and issues that are affecting the community, and celebrating those who contribute to the culture, history, and beauty of the city.
It’s a perfect sunny and cool fall day in New Orleans. What will we find you doing?
A perfect sunny and cool fall day calls for a walk in the French Quarter!
Mandy Ortiz
Meet Mandy Ortiz, a writer and leader based in New Orleans. Ortiz, 23, was raised on the West Side of Chicago, the daughter of a Mexican mother and a Puerto Rican father. Ortiz graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. and currently works in strategic planning and public relations. While in Minnesota, she was editor and director of Macalester’s SPACES Magazine, a BIPOC publication that worked to reclaim the narratives of Black and Brown people lost in academia, and co-hosted a radio program exploring the intersections of music, film and identity.
What do you hope to get out of your fellowship?
Historically, “Black and brown issues” have been lumped together by white America into a singular category of self-inflicted suffering; a narrative of “Black and brown issues” being felt by each Black and brown person the same way. I too began trying to find ways to fit everything into that singular narrative. I want to (and need to) get better at allowing individual stories to take the space they need to be told in full. To be whole and honest and honor those telling them. With this fellowship, I hope to strengthen my skills in both journalism and videography, and within that to learn the patience and skills needed to create not just a summary that matters to outsiders, but tell the stories that matter to those living them. I hope to learn to use storytelling as a method of communal and personal healing.
What does equitable media in New Orleans look like to you?
Equitable media is authentic media. The focus is not on the story you are trying to tell, rather the subject who is gifting you with their story. It highlights the realness in humanity by giving individuals the power to craft their story beyond the initial questions of what is being told.
It’s a perfect sunny and cool fall day in New Orleans. What will we find you doing?
You could find me writing by the bayou, at the farmers market with my partner or out at a happy hour :)
Skylar Stephens
Meet Skylar Stephens, is a journalist, emerging photographer and a student at Xavier University. Stephens, 19, grew up in Canton, Ohio. She writes for the Xavier Herald and recently completed a fellowship with the Black and Missing Foundation.
What do you hope to get out of your fellowship?
I hope to learn more media skills from my fellowship, but I also hope to learn more about different perspectives on mental health from New Orleans’ residents.
What does equitable media in New Orleans look like to you?
To me, equitable media in New Orleans looks like storytelling that serves the community. In other words, accurately telling the stories of those who reside in New Orleans and addressing the needs of the community.
It’s a perfect sunny and cool fall day in New Orleans. What will we find you doing?
On a perfect day in New Orleans, you would find me outside with my camera, looking for something or someone to take pictures of. Or you may find me looking for a new food spot to try.
Nia Woodside
Meet Nia Woodside, a New Orleans native and student at Loyola University New Orleans. Woodside, 20, is studying psychology. Woodside has previously interned with WYES PBS and NOLA.com.
What do you hope to get out of your fellowship?
I hope to not only grow my skills as a creative, but to make substantial change. That change is not measured by size or impact. My goal is to at least reach one person or group through my storytelling and advocating.
What does equitable media in New Orleans look like to you?
Equitable media in New Orleans to me looks like starting with the smaller groups in the community. In order to understand big picture ideas, you have to first be knowledgeable about the puzzle pieces that create such a picture.
It’s a perfect sunny and cool fall day in New Orleans. What will we find you doing?
I would most likely be working with my [sorority] sisters. When I am not in school, I typically have a campus event, whether it is service on a Saturday morning or hosting an event in the quad.
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