WASHINGTON, DC, 30 April 2020 — We are delighted to announce the winners of this year’s AU-Pulitzer Center International Reporting Fellowships, selected from a highly competitive field of applicants from across American University (AU).
Emily Hayes (L) is a graduate student studying international journalism and public affairs. Her research focuses on rural depopulation and economic migration in Europe and Japan. She currently is working as a Washington-based staff writer for a publication in Colorado, called The Durango Herald. She covers the Colorado congressional delegation and legislation on issues like agriculture, public lands and energy. Her winning project focuses on depopulation in rural Italy and how the country struggles to reverse it. Emily’s fellowship is supported by AU’s School of Communication.
Josee Molavi is a documentary filmmaker and immigration advocate passionate about human rights and bilingual storytelling. Josee is focused on documenting the stories of Latinx immigrant artists and activists in Washington, D.C. and beyond — most recently in partnership with the American University Humanities Truck and the Organization of American States. She previously worked in Madrid, Spain and D.C. to provide legal aid to Venezuelan and Central American refugees and asylum-seekers. She graduates this spring from the School of Public Affairs with a degree in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government (CLEG) and Spanish in the Politics, Policy, and Law Three-Year Scholars Program. Her winning project investigates climate change, displacement and devastation on the island of Puerto Rico through the lens of Taíno indigenous spirituality. Josee’s award is supported by AU’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS).
— Bill Gentile