The Water Desk is excited to announce the participants for our next Rio Grande journalist training and workshop, taking place in El Paso, Texas, in March 2026.
This training program will bring together journalists dedicated to enhancing coverage of water issues in the Rio Grande basin, fostering collaboration among news outlets and deepening understanding of critical challenges facing the region.
The Water Desk selected 15 journalists to participate in the training, reflecting diversity in geography, race, ethnicity, gender and medium.
Participants:
- Brenda Bazán, Independent
- Ana Bueno, Univision 45
- Austin Corona, Independent
- Bryce Dix, KUNM-FM
- Caroline Gutman, Independent
- Caroline Llanes, Rocky Mountain Community Radio
- Sage Marshall, Independent
- Verónica Martínez, Independent
- Alaina Mencinger, The Santa Fe New Mexican
- Diego Mendoza-Moyers, El Paso Matters
- Carlos Morales, Independent
- Amanda Pampuro, Courthouse News
- Emily Payne, Independent
- Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News
- Paul Ratje, Independent
The Rio Grande starts in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and flows through New Mexico and Texas, forming much of the U.S.-Mexico border. The river has experienced extremely low flows amid warming temperatures and declining snowpack. 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.
As part of The Water Desk’s training program, participants will learn from legal experts, water users and tribal members in the river’s borderlands, gaining insight into varying perspectives on how the Rio Grande shapes the region’s culture, politics and ecology.
The workshop will feature sessions on the complexities of water management, field trips to sites in and around El Paso, 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.
