Congratulations to the six incoming William Southam Journalism Fellows. The Fellows were announced at the annual Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards Gala on June 7th in Toronto.
CJFE / Massey College Fellow, Zuhal Ahad (Afghanistan)
Zuhal Ahad is a journalist from Afghanistan who has worked as a multimedia Women’s Affairs journalist with the BBC in Afghanistan. Prior to this, she has worked as a trainer and Assistant Director to the Afghan Women Journalists Union where she was delivering and coordinating different quality trainings for provincial Afghan women journalists about report writing, ways of gathering information for writing reports, anti-harassment law, and access to information law. In addition, she has worked as a research officer with a consultancy company for more than 2 years. During her studies, she also worked as an English language instructor. Zuhal holds two bachelor’s degrees; a major in business administration; focusing in management from the American University of Afghanistan and bachelors in communication and journalism from Kabul University. After the changes in Afghanistan, Zuhal fled Afghanistan to Dubai and then to Toronto, Canada. She is currently working as a freelance journalist who has published articles on the Guardian and Al Jazeera.
Elizabeth Wanja Gathu, Gordon N. Fisher / JHR Fellow (Kenya)
Wanja Gathu is a Kenyan Journalist with over 15 years multi-media experience, working with both local and international media. She is a passionate human rights defender and a strong advocate for social justice and peace building. She aspires to a world where people’s rights are respected and protected – a world free from injustice and all forms of discrimination. She has written and published hard-hitting articles that speak truth to power and calling out government excesses in her home country Kenya. Elizabeth holds a Diploma in Mass Communication from the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication and is an avid student of Peace building and Conflict Transformation. She is a mother of two teenage sons. She enjoys travelling, reading and writing.
William Southam Journalism Fellow, Natasha Grzincic (Canada)
Natasha Grzincic (Gur-zin-sitch), or Tash, is the deputy editor at VICE News, where she oversees newsroom development and leads coverage on the climate crisis and social justice. Previously, Tash was Madame Deputy at VICE Canada, put the mother in Motherboard (as senior editor), and was digital news lead at the Toronto Star. She fiercely advocates for the newsroom and is proud of negotiating three percent annual raises and saving jobs as union co-chair. She’s also a co-founder of Canadian Journalists of Colour, a networking group for racialized journalists.
Webster McConnell Fellow, Hannah Hoag (Canada)
Hannah Hoag is a Toronto-based science journalist and editor. She is the deputy editor and the energy and environment editor at The Conversation Canada, was the founding managing editor of Arctic Deeply, covering circumpolar issues, and is part of the group that wrote The Science Writers’ Handbook, a guide to the craft and business of popular science writing. She has covered science, medicine and the environment for 20 years, freelancing for the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, the Atlantic, Wired, Science and Nature, among others.
St. Clair Balfour Fellow, Valérie Ouellet (Canada)
VALÉRIE OUELLET is a bilingual investigative reporter who specializes in data-driven journalism. Her exclusive stories for the CBC News Investigative Unit often explore women’s health, social injustice and systemic inequalities. She has won the Amnesty International Media Award for documenting COVID cases in Canadian jails (2021) and the RTDNA Dan McArthur Award for shedding light on Ontario’s broken school violence reporting system (2020). She teaches data journalism at the Toronto Metropolitan University and is a proud mentor with the CAJ mentorship program. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of King’s College in Halifax.
CBC / Radio-Canada Fellow, Omayra Issa (Canada)
Omayra Issa is a senior reporter for CBC News. She co-created and co-produced CBC’s Black on the Prairies, that brought to life stories detailing Black lives past, present, and future in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. She reports on all major stories in Saskatchewan for a national audience, including COVID-19, the Humboldt Broncos bus crash tragedy, and the shooting of Colten Boushie. She is a YWCA Women of Distinction Award nominee. She sits on the board of the Canadian Association of Journalists and mentors early career journalists. She is fluent in five languages.
