The Water Desk is excited to announce the participants for the Rio Grande Journalist Training and Workshop, taking place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in January 2025.
This training program will bring together journalists dedicated to enhancing coverage of water issues along the Rio Grande, fostering collaboration among news outlets and deepening understanding of critical challenges facing the region.
The Rio Grande flows from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, through New Mexico and Texas, while forming the U.S.-Mexico border. Like many Southwestern waterways, the river has been ravaged by a more than two-decade-long dry spell made worse by climate change. Coverage of the communities and ecosystems dependent on the Rio Grande is essential to understanding what’s at stake as the gap between water supply and demand widens.
The Water Desk selected 14 journalists to participate in the training, reflecting diversity in geography, race, ethnicity, gender and medium.
Participants:
- Spenser Heaps, Indepdendent
- Catherine Jaffee, Independent
- Elizabeth Miller, Independent
- Jeremy Miller, Independent, contributing writer, Sierra Magazine
- Caitlin Ochs, Independent
- Danielle Prokop, Source NM
- Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News
- María Ramos Pacheco, The Dallas Morning News
- Elliot Ross, Independent
- Nadav Soroker, Searchlight New Mexico
- Ishan Thakore, Colorado Public Radio
- Caroline Tracey, Independent
- Emery Veilleux, The Taos News
- Christian von Preysing, KRGV-TV
As part of The Water Desk’s training program, participants will hear from legal experts, water users and tribal members along the Rio Grande to hear varying perspectives on how the river is a key part of the region’s cultural, political and geographic landscape.
The workshop will feature expert-led sessions on the complexities of water management and opportunities to network with peers and regional water experts. The Thornburg Foundation, a Santa Fe-based family foundation, is providing the financial support to make this training possible, while the program is the sole responsibility of The Water Desk.
