We're thrilled to welcome this year's cohort for KALW's Summer Journalism Program! These fellows have already started reporting on the election, city budgets, housing, queer life, and more!
They'll be working with our experienced staff of editors and journalists producing short and long-form stories for the radio. We're so excited to bring their stories to your over the course of the next three months!
Here they are — in their own words.
Aowen Cao (she/her)
Aowen Cao is a New York City-based reporter and audio producer, and an M.A. candidate at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, covering community, culture, mental health, and social issues. Drawn to the wonder of everyday life and the dignity of ordinary people, her work has explored psychedelic healing and the lasting impact of war trauma across generations, as well as deed theft targeting Black and Brown residents in Brooklyn.
Before moving to New York, she produced stories from China for NPR and France Télévisions, covering everything from climate change’s impact on tea farmers to the rise of AI-powered livestreamers. A feature she produced for NPR about grief and resilience in post-lockdown China won a 2024 Edward R. Murrow Awards for Best Feature Reporting.
Amanda Hernandez (she/her)
Amanda Hernandez is a Latina journalist and recent graduate of San Francisco State University, where she earned her degree in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts. She has experience in radio, digital, and television news through internships at KQED and KGET-TV, where she got an early start working as a web producer. Amanda also developed her on-air television reporting and production skills through State of Events, San Francisco State’s live student-run newscast. She is passionate about covering housing, culture, and community issues with a focus on social justice and underrepresented voices. Amanda recently directed her first documentary and is excited to continue growing as a multimedia storyteller through her internship with KALW.
Gabriel Lopez (he/him)
Gabriel Lopez is a product of Oakland, the SFV, and the Mojave Desert. He is a journalist, radio host, and DJ who is always looking for sounds that take him far but hold him close. He is one of the two hosts of KEXP’s Bay Area local music show, “Vinelands”, alongside SF rocker Kelley Stoltz every Saturday night at 6pm on 92.7FM. He also explores “the threads of sound” on the Lower Grand Radio show “Garment”, with his co-host Reeves aka @youngpaypal. He is a reciepient of the Jubilee Fellowship at the UC Berkeley School of Journalism.
Travis Raburn (he/him)
Travis Raburn is an audio-visual journalist and a recent graduate from San Francisco State University. He has led multimedia production for the Golden Gate Xpress, had his work featured in a film festival, as well as a few other publications in the United States and abroad.
Tessa Mok (she/her)
Tessa is an East Bay writer and multimedia storyteller interested in language and justice. She's worked in podcast production and currently co-produces Love in Public, a Vancouver radio show exploring the geography of conversation. She is drawn to storytelling that feels participatory, textured, and absurd. Outside of work, you can find her perusing flea markets, traveling the world, collecting voice memos, and playing sudoku.
Chelsea Kurnick (they/she)
Chelsea Kurnick is an audio and print journalist reporting on health, arts and culture and climate in the Bay Area. They are a masters student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Since 2020, Chelsea has produced the annual Santa Rosa Zine Fest. This summer, Chelsea is KALW's 11th Hour Food and Farming intern.
Dinée Dorame (she/her)
Dinée Dorame is a Navajo journalist, storyteller, and media producer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose work explores the intersection of sports, culture and Native communities. She is Tábąąhá (Edge of Water Clan), born for Naakai Dine’é (Mexican People Clan). Her maternal grandfather’s clan is Tótsohníí (Big Water Clan), and her paternal grandfather’s clan is Naakai Dine’é. Dinée is currently a graduate student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where she reports for North Gate Radio and Richmond Confidential.
She is also the creator and host of The Grounded Podcast, a show examining the connections between running, community, land, and culture. Before entering journalism, Dinée worked in higher education and college access, serving as a Native American recruitment coordinator and admissions officer at Yale University and later supporting Native students through College Horizons. Through her reporting and storytelling, she aims to reflect the complexities of contemporary Native life and contribute to a more accountable public record.
Elina Graham (she/her)
With experience in print and digital journalism, audio production and marketing, Elina Graham brings an eclectic perspective to the Bay Area media landscape. Her reporting primarily centers on local art and culture, and she has had the opportunity to produce concert coverage for Mac DeMarco, Earl Sweatshirt, Patti Smith, the Wallows, Thundercat and Kamaiyah. Catch her at a jazz club, wandering through a used bookstore or hiking in the redwoods.