June 17, 2014 – The IWMF has selected Louisa Reynolds, an independent journalist based in Guatemala City, Guatemala, as the 2014-15 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. Reynolds is the tenth recipient of the annual fellowship, which gives a woman journalist the opportunity to develop expertise while focusing on human rights journalism and social justice issues.
Reynolds, 33, covers human rights cases, femicide and gender-based violence in Guatemala. “I strongly believe that journalism can act as a powerful instrument for change by highlighting injustice and also by finding stories that prove that a transformation is possible,” she said.
Reynolds has contributed regularly to Latinamerica Press / Noticias Aliadas, Inter-Press Service, Plaza Pública, Proseco, El Periódico, and other publications since 2011. Previously, she was a reporter for El Periódico and an editor for Inforpress Centroamericana.
Reynolds in Tierra Bomba, Cartagena, Colombia
Beginning in September, Reynolds will spend the seven-month fellowship as a research associate in residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for International Studies. She will also complete internships at The Boston Globe and The New York Times.
Ellen Clegg, president of the Boston Globe Foundation and Globe spokeswoman, said, “Each Neuffer fellow embodies the core principles that our beloved colleague, Elizabeth Neuffer, held dear: courageous journalism, boundless curiosity, and a burning desire to shine a light on injustice. Ten years out, we’re proud to see how the fellows have made their mark on the world.”
The 2014-15 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer runner-up is Malgorzata “Maggie” Padlewska, a video-journalist and the founder of One Year One World. Her project aims to bridge the global communications gap as she documents and shares the stories of under-reported communities from around the world.
The fellowship is named for Elizabeth Neuffer, a Boston Globe reporter and the winner of a 1998 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award who was killed while on assignment in Iraq in 2003. Neuffer’s life mission was to promote international understanding of human rights and social justice.