The FOIA Fellows program provides intensive hands-on training and mentoring for early-career journalists in the Chicagoland area and surrounding states who work at small news organizations, with a special focus on journalists from underrepresented backgrounds.
The fellows come to Chicago for two days to hear from leading Freedom of Information and investigative reporting voices. They’re also paired with mentors to receive personalized feedback on their current projects and FOIA records requests.
2025 FOIA Fellows
- Drake Bentley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI
- Caryn Eisert, WAND-TV, Decatur, Il
- Francia Garcia Hernandez, Block Club Chicago
- Christopher Huslig, WMBD-TV, Peoria, Il
- Lizzie Kaboski, The Times of Northwest Indiana
- Tess Kenny, Naperville Sun, Naperville, Il
- Caroline Klapp, WNDU-TV South Bend
- Camden Lazenby, Daily Chronicle/Shaw Media, DeKalb, Il
- Jesse Lin, Green Bay Gazette, Green Bay WI
- Michael Liptrot, Block Club Chicago
- Nadia Scharf, Green Bay Gazette, Green Bay, WI
- Luis Velazquez, Cicero Independiente, Cicero, Il
2025 FOIA Mentors
The center engages a wide range of professionals to serve as FOIA Fellows program mentors. 2025 program mentors included:
- Leah Bartelt, Public Access Counselor, Illinois Attorney General's Office.
- Ben Bradley, WGN-TV, Anchor and Investigative Reporter
- Peter Edwards, FOIA Officer, Chicago Police Department
- Tom Jones, ABC7, Investigative Producer
- Dan Mihalopoulos, Investigative Reporter WBEZ Chicago and Chicago Sun-Times
- Ann Pistone, former ABC 7 Investigative Producer
- Manny Ramos, Block Club Chicago, Investigative Reporter
- Matt Topic, Attorney, Loevy and Loevy
- Ben Welsh, News Applications Editor Reuters
- Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, City Hall Reporter
2025 Participating Journalism Students
This year, journalism students joined the fellows program. They were matched with fellows to work on investigative projects. 2025 student participants were:
- Jake Cox
- Lina Gebhardt
- Erin Gessert
- Morgan Kirsch
- Inga Machi
- Karidja Monjolo
- Riley Moulton
- Lucia Preziosi
- Alyssa Salcedo
- Angela Shak
- Lauren Sheperd
- Matthew Warakomski
2024 FOIA Fellows Program
2023 FOIA Fellows Program