American journalism is experiencing a severe and systemic diversity crisis. In an era of increased pushback against diversity and inclusion, there are simply not enough reporters and editors of color to inform, engage and accurately and fairly reflect U.S. society.

Since 2022, the National Press Foundation has addressed this problem through free training and virtual webinars to support journalists of color staying in – and leading – the newsrooms of tomorrow. The fellowship consists of monthly virtual skills-building sessions, D.C.-based training programs, mentor matches with veteran journalists, peer-to-peer support and development of varied personal, professional and practical skills. To date, 65 journalists have successfully completed the year-long program.

This program is managed by Rachel Jones, NPF’s Director of Journalism Initiatives. To donate or sponsor fellowships, please contact Pamela Roberts at pamela@nationalpress.org.

NPF welcomes 15 journalists from across the country to its 2026 cohort. These talented journalists represent local, national and non-profit news outlets and bring with them a wealth of experiences from a variety of media.

The 2026 Widening the Pipeline journalists are: 

Marion Apio | City Pride Magazine | California

Alexia Aston | The Oklahoman | Oklahoma

Paris Barraza | USA Today Network | California

Auzzy Byrdsell | Boston Globe | Massachusetts

Mia Casas | KUNM-FM | New Mexico

Subhanjana Das | Sahan Journal | Minnesota

Anissa Durham | Word In Black | Arizona

Nick El Hajj | Des Moines Register | Iowa

Simeon Gates | Mississippi Today | Mississippi

Shaniece Holmes Brown | Hearst Connecticut Media Group | Connecticut

Kyeland Jackson | Minnesota Star Tribune | Minnesota

Nadia Lathan | CalMatters | California

Mia Maldonado | Oregon Capital Chronicle | Oregon

Alex Nguyen | The Texas Tribune | Texas

Jalen Williams | Detroit Free Press | Michigan

Meet the 2025, 2024 and 2022-2023 Widening the Pipeline classes.

Training highlights

During the first three years of the Widening the Pipeline Fellowship, journalists had experiences that broadened their journalistic perspectives as well as their vision for what’s possible in their careers. For example, the 25 journalists selected for the inaugural 2022-23 program visited the White House Briefing Room, and were briefed by Amanda Finney, President Joe Biden’s chief of staff for the press office and special assistant to Chief Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Assistant Press Secretary Brittany Caplin.

2024 fellows were the first to attend the NPF Annual Awards Dinner, where they met journalism legend Dorothy Gilliam, the 2023 W.M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award winner. They also heard from Editor of the Year Manny Garcia and Sol Taishoff Award for Broadcast excellence winner Robin Roberts.

2025 fellows also attended the Annual Awards dinner and met 2024 Taishoff winner Christiane Amanpour and Kiplinger winner Maria Hinojosa. During their final in-person training, they toured  WUSA Channel 9 in DC, led by award-winning weeknight anchor Lesli Foster who had also briefed 2024 fellows. Their training culminated in a session with veteran journalist Richard Prince, who challenged them to leverage the lessons from historic challenges to diversity and inclusion in journalism to fuel their career goals.

Widening the Pipeline fellows said training sessions gave them a new take on their career paths and provided them with tools to reset and plan for new opportunities. Among the first 45 fellows, 87 percent of fellows were promoted within their news organizations or attained a better position at another news outlet. Twenty percent received a journalism award for work published since joining the fellowship, and 94 percent stayed in journalism.