FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
The Law and Justice Journalism Project (LJJP) fellowship program provides journalists at the beginning of their career with regular advising on story development, investigating cases, finding sources, and navigating a complex topic on often tight reporting schedules.
LJJP pairs early and mid-stage journalists with experienced criminal justice system reporters. This year, we ask that each reporter bring at least one project idea to the fellowship that they will produce with the assistance of their mentor. LJJP will also help reporters find relevant experts and research to support their work.
In 2025-26, we are running regional fellowship programs in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Please read the 2026 Fellowship FAQs for more information.
2025-2026 NORTH CAROLINA MENTORS
JULEYKA LANTIGUA
KATE MARTIN
BRENTIN MOCK
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JULEYKA LANTIGUA
Journalist and Entrepreneur
Connect at @juleykalantigua
Juleyka Lantigua is the Founder and CEO of LWC Studios, an award-winning digital media studio whose original work reaches rising audiences with programming that has a social-justice vein. She created and executive produces 70 Million, the first open-source solutions journalism podcast chronicling how locals are tackling jail reform around the country. In 2020, LWC Studios received a Peabody Award nomination, earned silver in the audio documentary category at the New York International Radio Festival, and won “The Director’s Prize,” their first Third Coast award, also known as “The Oscars of Audio.” In 2021, “Driving the Green Book,” which she edited and the company produced for Macmillan Podcasts, earned the inaugural Ambie for Best History Podcast. A Fulbright Scholar, Tory Burch Fellow, and Latino Business Action Network alumna (Stanford University), Juleyka holds a BA from Skidmore College, a Master’s in Journalism from Boston University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She serves on the board of governors of The Podcast Academy, the boards of directors of Latino Media Network and TechBridge Girls.
KATE MARTIN
APM Reports
Kate Martin is a correspondent with APM Reports and has worked with the Sold a Story podcast team since 2023. Prior to that, Kate reported extensively on sexual assault for NBC News and Carolina Public Press. Her work has led to the passage or revision of at least seven state laws in three states. She has trained hundreds of journalists on public records techniques, data reporting and accountability reporting. She is based in North Carolina. Photo credit: Chris McDuffie for APM Reports.
BRENTIN MOCK
Bloomberg News
Brentin Mock is a reporter, writer, and editor who specializes in stories about democracy, race, place, environment, and culture. His work can be found at Bloomberg News, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Grist, The American Prospect and Le Monde. He's also made appearances on MSNBC (currently MS NOW), CBS News, PBS and Democracy Now. His expertise includes urban policy, environmental justice, climate politics, housing, finance, criminal justice, voting rights, election administration, and race. He currently works as an editorial consultant for his company The Mock-Up, LLC.
2025-2026 North Carolina Fellows
BROOKLYN BROWN
RACHEL CRUMPLER
RACHEL HEIMANN MERCADER
CLAUDIA M. RIVERA COTTO
LEXI SOLOMON
BROOKLYN BROWN
Cherokee One Feather
Brooklyn Brown has an M.A. in History, Cherokee Studies track, from Western Carolina University, as well as a B.A. in English and Media & Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill. She taught early American history as an adjunct professor at WCU. As a Cherokee historian and community journalist, Brooklyn covers all news related to her tribe, including criminal law and investigative reporting. Siyo nigada! Uweyv Uwodige dagwadoa. Tsitsalagi. Tsalagi Soquo Ugidahli dagiluwisdaneho. (Hello everyone! My name is Brooklyn Brown. I am a descendant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. I am a reporter for the Cherokee One Feather, our tribal newspaper).
RACHEL CRUMPLER
North Carolina Health News
Rachel Crumpler is a reporter at North Carolina Health News covering gender health and prison and jail health. She has reported on the rise of suicides in North Carolina prisons, months-long waits criminal defendants face in jails for court-ordered mental health treatment and the barriers formerly incarcerated people encounter when returning to their communities. From 2022 to 2025, she was a Report for America corps member. Crumpler graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2022 with a degree in journalism and minors in history and social and economic justice.
RACHEL HEIMANN MERCADER
CityView
Rachel Heimann Mercader is a government reporter for CityView, part of The Assembly, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she covers local power, public accountability, and the systems that shape people’s lives. She brings nearly five years of watchdog and investigative experience, with reporting roles in Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, Southwest Florida and Memphis. Rachel is known for people‑centered reporting informed by public records and data. Her work has uncovered misconduct in policing, patterns of public corruption, and the consequences of closed‑door government decisionmaking. She is committed to elevating community voices and holding power accountable.
CLAUDIA M. RIVERA COTTO
Enlace Latino NC
Claudia M. Rivera Cotto is a bilingual journalist covering politics, government, and immigration in North Carolina for Enlace Latino NC through Report for America. Her reporting on Latino voter engagement and farmworker issues has appeared in The News & Observer and Carolina Public Press. Her previous reporting includes work with the Columbia Missourian, Notiséis WIPR, and the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo. Claudia holds a BA in Communication and English from the University of Puerto Rico and studied at Brown University as a sophomore. She earned a master’s degree in Data and Investigative Journalism from the University of Missouri–Columbia.
LEXI SOLOMON
The News & Observer
Lexi Solomon is an emerging news reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh focusing on crime. Her work at The N&O has ranged from an investigation into the rise in domestic violence homicides to breaking news coverage as part of a Pulitzer Prize finalist team examining Hurricane Helene’s impact. She previously worked at CityView and The Fayetteville Observer, reporting on crime, education and local government, before joining The N&O in August 2024. Lexi is a 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Russian and National Security & Foreign Affairs.
2025-2026 PENNSYLVANIA MENTORS
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SAMMY CAIOLA
JOSHUA VAUGHN
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SAMMY CAIOLA
Chalkbeat Philedalphia
Sammy Caiola is a text and audio journalist covering gun violence for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She most recently served as a reporter and editor at Kensington Voice, and before that as the first gun violence prevention reporter for WHYY News. There, she co-reported and co-hosted a national Edward R. Murrow award-winning podcast about stop and frisk. She is also the reporter and host of "After the Assault," a seven-part podcast about justice and healing after rape, produced by Capital Public Radio. She was a 2023 Ochberg Fellow at Columbia University. She is passionate about bringing trauma-informed journalism and community engagement into newsrooms.
JOSHUA VAUGHN
PennLive
Joshua Vaughn is an investigative/enterprise reporter with PennLive and adjunct lecturer at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University. He covers a broad array of criminal justice issues, but has focused recently on conditions and abuse in Dauphin County Prison. Joshua was a 2023 Pulitzer Center grantee in which he helped develop the first-ever database of deaths in jails in Pennsylvania.
He is also a 2026 Scripps Howard National Journalism Award Finalist, recipient of the 2025 John V.R. Bull First Amendment Award from the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association and 2025 Human Rights Champion from the Pennsylvania Prison Society.
2025-2026 Pennsylvania Fellows
REBECCA McCARTHY
LADIMIR GARCIA
VIDA LASHGARI
SAM KESSLER
JONATHAN BERGMUELLER
REBECCA McCARTHY
Rebecca Egan McCarthy is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She primarily covers climate, science, and energy and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, The Baffler, and many other outlets. She's a 2026 Climate Economics Journalism Fellow at NYU Stern and was the 2025-2026 Climate News Reporting Fellow at Grist.
LADIMIR GARCIA
Pittsburgh Business Times
Ladimir is a reporter for the Pittsburgh Business Times, who is originally from Beckley, W.Va. He graduated from West Virginia University with a B.S. in journalism.
In the past he’s worked with the Mon Valley Independent, Pittsburgh City Paper and Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He’s also worked for WVU’s independent student newspaper, the Daily Athenaeum.
VIDA LASHGARI
Columbia University School of Journalism
Vida Lashgari is a current masters student at the Columbia University School of Journalism and freelance reporter. Her past coverage includes ICE impact, the Trump administration, and local news.
Vida was part of a team at Penn State University that completed an eight-part investigation into Moshannon Valley Processing Center that exposed wrongdoing and abuse at the ICE facility.
SAM KESSLER
Sam Yellowhorse Kesler is an Associate Producer for Planet Money. Previously, he's held positions at NPR's Ask Me Another & All Things Considered, and was the inaugural Code Switch Fellow. Before NPR, he interned with World Cafe from WXPN. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and continues to reside in Philadelphia.
JONATHAN BERGMUELLER
The News & Observer
Jon is PennLive’s legal affairs reporter committed to demystifying Pennsylvania’s local court systems through his coverage of high-profile cases. Jon focuses on high-impact crimes such as homicides, abuse and those committed by public officials. He also focuses on civil proceedings involving government, public policy and corporate accountability.
Jon is excited to expand his accountability coverage of the courts through the opportunities provided by the LJJP Fellowship to continue his agenda-setting coverage of the Pennsylvania courts.
