The Lauren Brown Fellowship

The Lauren Brown Fellowship was created in memory of Lauren Alix Brown, a founding editor at Quartz Media who died in 2019 at the age of 37.

As director of special projects, Lauren oversaw some of Quartz’s most ambitious journalism and dedicated her career to lifting up writers from marginalized backgrounds. A mentor to many young journalists who came through Quartz, Lauren was committed to harnessing the power of new media to expose readers to people whose voices were traditionally overlooked. The Lauren Brown Fellowship, created by her colleagues, family, friends and peers, carries on Lauren’s legacy and impact by supporting the next generation of women journalists from underrepresented backgrounds. Learn more about Lauren’s work and legacy here.

In 2023, the Fellowship supported members of the IWMF’s 2022 Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program in pursuing ambitious reporting projects on underreported issues and professional development opportunities to strengthen their careers.

“While having commentary from notable figures is essential, the social web has proven that people don’t necessarily care where a story comes from or often who is writing it — they just want to read something interesting. This affords us a great opportunity to tap into new voices and unlikely experts; people on the ground around the world who are witnessing [change] firsthand.” – Lauren Alix Brown
I find myself missing Lauren Alix Brown more as time goes on. She was my journalistic partner and a better half in keeping me, the newsroom and the world at large authentic and honest. Never has there felt a more uncertain time in journalism and democracy and so it’s no coincidence that I am turning to the legacy Lauren left for guidance. I know she’d have pushed us to meet this moment faster, to hand over leadership to the people who ‘get it’ or have been dismissed for too long.
Mitra Kalita 2019-2020 Gwen Ifill Mentor