2025 Pulitzer Center Fellows Announced
Graduates will report on global stories with grants administered by the Pulitzer Center.
Columbia Journalism School, in partnership with the Pulitzer Center, is proud to announce the graduates from the Class of 2025 selected for fellowships to pursue in-depth projects on underreported issues of global importance.
This is the sixth year of the partnership, which provides funding and mentorship from an advisor associated with the Pulitzer Center. Fellows and advisors are paired based on their reporting interests and expertise. Several of this year’s projects examine the impact of environmental degradation, including deforestation in Brazil and Peru’s Amazon regions, agrochemical toxicity in El Salvador, and the effects of melting ice in Greenland, which has spurred high-stakes internal battles over Arctic fisheries.
Five of the CJS projects in the international arena are funded by the Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism, which is committed to preparing journalists to work, think, and report globally. It is led by Center Director and Patti Cadby Birch Assistant Professor of Journalism, Azmat Khan.
Other reporting grants are funded by generous school alumni, including through the Dean’s Fund for Postgraduate Reporting Opportunities.
"These fellows are pursuing critical and underreported stories in the field during a time when global journalism is increasingly under threat and opportunities are limited," said Azmat Khan. "The Li Center is proud to support these fellows in this important work, and to help build capacity in global muckraking that will have enduring impacts."
This investment in graduating students complements existing postgraduate fellowships offered through Columbia Journalism School. These efforts recognize that students and newsrooms continue to need support as they cover ongoing news stories in the U.S. and elsewhere.
"At a time when student press freedom is facing unprecedented challenges, it is gratifying to support young journalists committed to impactful storytelling," said Karima Haynes, Reporting Fellows program director.
Calamaio is an Italian investigative journalist with a strong background in multimedia reporting, having covered EU policy, climate-driven migration, and human rights violations—primarily across the Mediterranean. He has worked for the Associated Press, Reuters, Euractiv Italia, and La Repubblica, where he was a Google News Initiative fellow. His project will explore how internal cultural fractures within Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon are being exploited by local traffickers to enable land grabbing, illegal cattle ranching, and widespread deforestation.
Caurla is an investigative journalist focused on migration and conflict. He co-launched the history podcast “Don't Drink the Milk” and was part of the environmental YouTube channel Planet A. His reporting for Deutsche Welle, and in collaboration with The Guardian and Netra News, has exposed corruption and abuse across Asia, Africa, and Europe. He's based in New York City. Caurla's project will examine a movement among some Israeli citizens to refuse mandatory military service
Hernández Ampudia is a multimedia reporter from Mexico City. Her work focuses on immigration, social justice, and Latin America. This summer she is joining Reuters Mexico as a multimedia reporter. Her upcoming project investigates the impacts of agrochemical use on children’s health in Central America.
Oakes is an independent journalist originally from New York City. She has covered a range of topics including immigration, universities and free speech, healthcare disparities, and the human impacts of AI. Oakes' project will tell the stories of U.S. military veterans who have been detained or deported after their service.
Vakil is a New York City-based investigative reporter interested in stories about power and money unfolding in this era of climate change. He previously reported for Reuters, covering oil & gas markets, extreme weather, and energy policy across the U.S. and U.K. His project will examine the secretive arbitration tribunals that are enabling resource extraction from the Global South.
Barone is a Fulbright fellow and Italian journalist and documentary filmmaker based in New York City. Previously, she has reported for HuffPost Italia and NBC News, covering the Vatican, and has produced stories on immigration and politics. Her project, in partnership with Iona Horton, focuses on an endangered tree endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest that has been essential to classical string instrument bows for centuries and may be banned in a UN meeting this November.
Horton is a documentary filmmaker with a previous career in international sustainability consulting and a Master’s in Earth Sciences from the University of Oxford. Her project, in partnership with Luisa Barone, focuses on an endangered tree endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest that has been essential to classical string instrument bows for centuries and may be banned in a UN meeting this November.
Rosel is a Spanish photographer and filmmaker focused on stories at the intersection of migration, climate, and conflict. She previously lived in East Africa, documenting the region’s major crises, including the drought and human trafficking routes, while working in the aid sector. Her current project will take her to Mexico to examine the environmental impact of industrial mezcal production.
Sturgeon is a British documentary filmmaker, Fulbright Scholar, and boatbuilder whose work focuses on maritime conflict and coastal communities. His project investigates how Greenland’s internal fisheries dispute is shaping Arctic sovereignty - and how control over fish may dictate the region’s geopolitical future.