The Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights is proud to announce its 2026 Fellowship winners, journalists who will pursue reporting projects on issues of inequity and human or civil rights abuses.
The fellows were selected from a diverse group of candidates who exemplified the center’s mission of informing and shaping the way we cover race, gender and civil and human rights.
"Now, more than ever, it is vital to track the plight of the most vulnerable amongst us," said Robe Imbriano, Director of Lipman Center and Ira A. Lipman Associate Professor of Journalism. "We are proud to announce the selection of two terrific reporters doing this indispensable work and look forward to the stories they’ll produce over the coming year."
The 2026 $10,000 fellowship recipients are:
- Neena Satija, an investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle and former investigative reporter for The Washington Post and The Texas Tribune. Satija is a recipient of a Headliners award for her coverage of Hurricane Beryl, a three-time winner of an Edward R. Murrow award, and two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award, among other honors.
- Kayla Ruble, an independent journalist and former investigative reporter for The Detroit News. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, the Daily Beast, VICE News, and elsewhere, and appeared on PBS Frontline and NewsHour Weekend, CBS News, and CNBC. She is the recipient of a Scripps Howard Award and a finalist for both the Livingston Award for national reporting and the Peabody Awards.
Professor Imbriano led the selection committee, which included Aida Alami, James Madison Visiting Professor on First Amendment Issues, and Adjunct Associate Professor Dolores Barclay, Lipman program manager.
"The Lipman is a gemstone among reporting fellowships and we’re exceedingly happy to welcome this year’s cohort," said Jelani Cobb, Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism, and the Lipman Center’s inaugural director. "It’s particularly important in this moment to support the vital reporting that these journalists have demonstrated their capacity to execute and we look forward to supporting each of these projects.”
The Lipman Center convenes leaders in journalism and civil and human rights, and conducts research around social justice issues. The center enhances the academic experience of current journalism school students by contributing to curricula design and developing student activities inspired by the center’s work. At the heart of the center’s mission is the establishment of the annual Lipman Fellowship, intended to produce significant civil and human rights reportage, and The Lipman Center Initiative in Reporting on Race and Criminal Justice, a reporting project for local newsrooms to investigate systemic racism in the criminal justice system.
For more information about the Lipman Fellowships, please visit https://journalism.columbia.edu/lipman-center.
