Webinar: SFJ award winners on how they practice inclusive storytelling
In these turbulent, anxiety-inducing times, we need features storytellers more than ever.
They’re embedded in our communities, where they uncover our shared struggles and moments of joy. They take us into homes where families break bread, explore how personal style shapes confidence, and empower communities to tell their own stories of survival.
Join us at 1 p.m. ET / noon CT / 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Nov. 13, as we host a virtual conversation with four journalists about their work. All four won 2024 SFJ Excellence in Features awards in Division 3 of the Inclusion and Representation in Features category.
Please click here to register for our webinar.
Justin Agrelo of The Trace, Karim Shamsi-Basha of NJ.com, Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle and her reporting partner, photographer Salgu Wissmath, will share how they find their stories, build trust and prove that community-led narratives can transform both newsrooms and the communities they serve. Former SFJ President Margaret Myers will moderate.
Read the winning stories and learn more about our speakers:
Justin Agrelo
Justin is the Chicago community engagement reporter at The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom solely dedicated to covering the country's gun violence crisis. He reports on gun violence through a public health, people-centered lens, working as the bridge between The Trace’s local team and the Chicago communities that are most affected by gun violence. He previously worked at City Bureau, where he covered Chicago's ongoing eviction crisis, and as an editorial fellow for Mother Jones magazine.
Erin Allday
Erin covers gender and sexuality for the San Francisco Chronicle. Previously, she was a longtime health writer with a focus on covering infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and the COVID pandemic. A Southern California native, Erin has lived in the Bay Area since graduating from UC Berkeley. She joined the Chronicle in 2006.
Karim Shamsi-Basha
Karim emigrated from Damascus, Syria to the United States in 1984 at the age of 18. He attended the University of Tennessee and acquired a degree in mechanical engineering. After that, he pursued what he loved — photojournalism and writing. His photographic work has taken him to more than 50 countries including China, Turkey, Chile, Mexico, France and Italy. Karim’s work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Sports Illustrated, Coastal Living, People, Time, Southern Living, NJ.com, The Alabama News Center, al.com, Aramco World magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post and many others. Karim’s children’s book, “The Cat Man of Aleppo,” won a 2021 Caldecott Honor, a Middle East Book Award and five starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly among others. Currently, Karim works as a Food & Culture Columnist / Photographer with nj.com and The Star Ledger in New Jersey. Karim is a single father to three precious human beings: Zade, Dury and Demi. He lives by the motto “carpe diem,” seizing every moment of this beautiful life.
Salgu Wissmath
Salgu is a nonbinary Korean American photographer from Sacramento, California and the Communications Director for Diversify Photo. They are currently based in San Antonio, Texas. They were formerly a Hearst Photo Fellow at the San Antonio Express-News and the San Francisco Chronicle. They are dedicated to decolonizing visual storytelling by engaging in ethical storytelling by and for people of color and the queer community. Their personal work explores the intersections of mental health, queer identity and faith from a conceptual documentary approach. Salgu was recognized as AAJA’s 2022 Emerging Journalist of the Year and received the 2023 Curve Award for Emerging Journalists.