Authors List

Authors

  • Abby Cruz is a national journalist, speaker, and mentor born and raised in North Philadelphia. After spending the last decade living and working in Washington, D.C., Abby made the intentional decision to return home—back to the community that shaped her—to pour into the people who need her most. Her journey took her to the national stage, proving that someone from her neighborhood, background, and upbringing could make it to the network and beyond. Now, her focus is on the next generation.

    Abby is deeply committed to investing in youth, encouraging dreamers, and reminding people that their circumstances do not disqualify their calling. Through storytelling, mentorship, and presence, she lets others know that their dreams are possible and that faith can carry them further than fear ever will. At her core, Abby is a faithful and humble servant, guided by purpose and obedience. She wants to be known not for titles or platforms, but for intentional stewardship—using what she’s been given to serve well, love deeply, and give back fully.

  • Ahmed Hassouna is a Philadelphia-based documentary filmmaker and community reporter. His work focuses on arts, culture, and community stories, highlighting the voices of artists and local communities. Ahmed has produced video segments for community media and independent projects that explore identity, memory, and cultural expression.

    With a background in filmmaking and education, he is interested in using audio and visual storytelling to connect people and share meaningful stories from everyday life.

  • Alisha is a journalist in Philly mostly covering food, drinks, and travel. She’s been reporting on Philadelphia for several years and is excited to continue expanding her journalism work.

    In 2022, Alisha launched an event series, #LatinxIndustryNight, highlighting Hispanic and Latinx bar pros.

    Alisha is excited to be part of this fellowship and dive deeper into multimedia training to do more cross-platform storytelling.

  • Amadee Braxton’s day job is working as a facilitator, coach, and strategist, helping organizations and leaders do their best work. As a radio host and filmmaker, she uses story and information to spark connection and change. Amadee has hosts a weekly show on WURD Radio that offers political analysis and solutions from a Black, progressive, feminist perspective.

    In all that she does, Amadee aims to create possibility and explore what’s unknown in service of healing and liberation for myself and others. Other than that, she enjoys cooking, walking in the woods, and watching Dabke dancing videos.

  • Anaiah Davis is a Caribbean-American, Emmy-nominated, award-winning filmmaker working as a Media Instructor at WHYY in Philadelphia.

    Anaiah believes that diversity and integrity is key in telling stories about ourselves, our communities, and our world. She also likes exploring mental health in her work.

  • Autumn is a graduate of Rowan University with a degree in Radio/Television and Film. Throughout her time at Rowan, she has explored a wide range of roles, including anchoring, editing, directing, and scriptwriting.

    She’s also had the opportunity to work with companies like Immortal Vision Studio as a Graphic Design intern, and WHYY as a TV Production Intern, where she contributed to TV shows including Check, Please, You Oughta Know, and On Stage at Curtis and radio programs such as Studio 2, as well as getting an inside look at Fresh Air.

    Currently, Autumn is Public Affairs Director at Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM, where she produces a talk show called “A Community Affair.”

  • Dounya Ramadan is a Muslim Libyan-American, Delaware born-and-raised, Philly-based community advocate/organizer in local intersectional/international justice spaces, ranging from advocacy for Palestinian liberation to immigrant rights advocacy and beyond. 

    As a Spanish, Arabic and English speaker, she is passionate about utilizing her language proficiency to bridge linguistically diverse worlds in every space she is in whether that be at a Philly law firm working on detention, asylum, and family-based cases as an immigration paralegal, as she has done for the past three years, or in other advocacy realms.

    Dounya is also an avid traveler and is passionate about using her skillsets to bridge local and global anti-imperial/colonial struggles in radio/multimedia forms of journalism.

  • Jennifer is a Temple University-trained journalist who has been roving the streets of Philadelphia since 2008. Pre-pandemic, she was a full-time disability rights advocate, active member of numerous city-based groups, including Craft Coven, South Silly, and Philly Plant Guy, and a regular contributor to The Philadelphia Secret Admirer.

    In 2019, she was a proud participant in StoryCorps’ ongoing project to record and preserve Americans’ voices in the Library of Congress.

    After the deaths of her partner in 2020, and a beloved mentor in 2022, Jennifer embarked on an 18-month journey around the world to experience life beyond SEPTA’s reach. In July 2023, she returned from a 4-month stay in Oceania with a newfound passion for permaculture, climate activism and land-based living that she hopes to share with her fellow Philadelphians.

    Jennifer’s hobbies include guerrilla gardening, star-gazing, thrifting, bird-watching, and taking her two beagles on long walks.

  • Koren Martin is a photographer and arts administrator originally from Atlantic City, NJ.

    Her work is a mixture of candid portraiture and immersive documentary photography. She has passion for highlighting the beauty and strength of the African Diaspora. Her current photo series “Birthing The Resistance” is a celebration of Black Mothers that are involved in activism.

    Koren has received an honorable mention in MFON: Women Photographers of the AfricanDiaspora, an exclusive and commemorative biannual journal committed to establishing and representing a collective voice of women photographers of African descent. Her work has been featured in the anthology “How We Stay Free”, MFON exhibition “Altar:Prayer, Ritual, Offerings.”at Photoville, The Chrysler Museum Exhibition “Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering”, Puffin Foundation Exhibition “Election, 2020” and the Harlem Arts Alliance/CUNY-Black Studies exhibition “Black (W)omen: Seen it Before.”

  • Nikki is thrilled to return to Philly after spending her days outdoors as an experiential educator in rural Connecticut. As a writer and audio producer, she is passionate about exploring how we experience belonging and connection in public spaces and the natural world.

    Previously, Nikki apprenticed at the award-winning podcast Shelter in Place and interned with several nonprofits, including Impact Services and The Borgen Project. These experiences deepened her love for storytelling and community engagement, inspiring her to connect with others as an audio storyteller.

    When she's not at home with her partner, Jake, and their imaginary cat named Tofu, you can find Nikki reading books, diving into big ideas, and befriending trees and birds.

  • Tamara Rusell, also known as P.O.C. (Proof of Consciousness), is the Founder and Host of REVIVE RADIO, an online broadcasting platform, and a media correspondent for the joint venture REVIVE Media, featuring interviews and conversations on a topics including politics, societal issues, small businesses, music, health, nonprofits, and trending topics.

    When she is not behind the mic, she is curating workshops for the youth, engaging with the community by meeting them where they are, and volunteering for different community services.

    In 2020, P.O.C. became the youngest African-American woman regularly scheduled on Philadelphia NPR member station WHYY, and she is an active member of WHYY’s News Information Community Exchange (N.I.C.E.) program and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Constellation News Leadership Initiative Fellowship. She also completed the 2023 Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange Fellowship.

    P.O.C. is an honorary founding member of the National Black Media and Press Association and a member of For(bes) The Culture. P.O.C. is the recipient of The National Black Media and Press Association Award for excellence in audio media.

  • Sheila Lorrett Emerson is a community reporter and producer who focuses on uplifting and celebrating the joy in underrepresented and marginalized communities, especially those of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC); and, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, 2 Spirit, Plus (LGBTQ2S+); as well as serving as a change agent to help eradicate the stigmas surrounding areas such as mental health, disabilities, and sex work.

    Sheila likes to get, in the words of Civil Rights Leader John Lewis, “in good trouble, necessary trouble!” Sheila’s advocacy work took center stage when she spoke at the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington, addressing attendees from across the nation. Sheila is a Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.

  • Sophia Mattia graduated from Drexel University in June 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in English, minors in communication and linguistics, and a certificate in Entertainment Writing and Publishing. She currently works as an Editorial Assistant at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and as a Research Assistant at Drexel.

    During her senior year, Sophia was the Editor-in-Chief of Drexel’s independent student newspaper, The Triangle. She also co-founded a STEM & Humanities journal called Lit Lab.

    Sophia has experience writing news and entertainment stories, but is excited to explore radio journalism! In her free time, she enjoys writing short stories, poetry, and songs.

  • Winter is an abolitionist educator and organizer committed to historical reckoning in service of liberation. With a PhD in history from UCLA, their research and writing projects focus on exposing the roots of colonial infrastructures in Haiti, Philadelphia, and the Midwestern United States.

    They are passionate about finding and creating conditions that make transformation possible at any scale, engaging methods like archival research, studio and installation art, dance, speculative fiction, and live action role play. They are proud to work in the field of community archiving as Director of Resource Mobilization and Strategic Planning at People’s Media Record.

    Winter has made their home in Philly since 2018, and is a parent to a public school pre-teen and several fur babies.