Meet the Second Cohort of CPD U.S.-South Korea NextGen Creative Fellows

Join us in welcoming the second cohort of the CPD U.S.-South Korea NextGen Creative Fellowship, which engages the creative sector in furthering professional networks and relationship-building between the United States and the Republic of Korea.

Amara Aguilar

Amara Aguilar is a professor of journalism at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She teaches journalism for mobile/emerging platforms, social media storytelling for Latinx audiences, visual journalism, engaging diverse communities, public relations strategy, and interactive design, among other courses. 

At USC, she co-founded Annenberg Media's award-winning bilingual outlet, Dímelo, focused on serving Latinx audiences. Amara has written for the Los Angeles Times, CNN, NiemanLab, and other outlets. She has worked as a designer, visual journalist, reporter, social media engagement producer and consultant. She’s conducted social media, data, and digital journalism training for the Associated Press, ABC News, the National Football League and other organizations. 

Amara earned a Online News Association Challenge Fund grant for Innovation in Education in 2020, was named a TOW Knight Disruptive Educator for innovation in 2018, MediaShift’s top innovative journalism educator in 2018, a Scripps Howard Foundation-AEJMC visiting social media fellow in 2017, and an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2015. Her collaborations at USC include work with ABC7, L.A. TACO, NBC Latino, Snap Inc., Fusion, KPCC, NPR Next Generation Radio, Las Fotos Project, Azteca America, and others. She is also an SPJ trainer on Google News Initiative tools. 

At USC she is a regular collaborator and faculty fellow for the Center for Public Diplomacy and has also worked with the Center for Health Journalism. She earned her doctorate at USC’s Rossier School of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership, where her research focused on converged newsrooms. Her new co-edited book, “Covering Latinx Communities: A Guide for Journalists” was released in summer 2022.

Kayti Burt

Kayti Burt is a working-class pop culture journalist based in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Her areas of interest include working-class representation in Hollywood, the rise of foreign-language media in the U.S., and transformative fandom.

Lauren Frias

Lauren Frias is an associate editor for Insider covering breaking news, politics, entertainment, and pop culture. Born and raised in Chicago, she studied journalism at Boston University, before swapping coasts to join Insider's news desk based in Los Angeles.

A storyteller at heart and newshound by trade, her work has appeared in publications across the globe, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Sydney, Australia. When she's not on assignment, Lauren can be found indulging in the latest trending film and TV or defending her love for botanical flavors in food and drinks.

Vince Gonzales

A Professor of Professional Practice, is Annenberg’s Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Gonzales is a past Associate Director of Graduate Programs at the School of Journalism and, in Fall 2020, was the Acting Director of the Annenberg Media Center. He has worked as a CNN freelance correspondent and, prior to that, was a CBS News national correspondent (focusing on investigative stories) based in Los Angeles. Gonzales was also a TV news reporter in the Denver, Phoenix, Dallas and Los Angeles markets. 

He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Brockport (with bachelor’s degrees in political science and communications/journalism) and he received a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Gonzales also studied at the Graduate School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia. Awards: three National News Emmys, Two Local News Emmy, three Columbia University-Alfred I. duPont awards, four RTNA Golden Mikes, the L-A Press Club’s Best Investigative Reporting award, the L-A Press Club’s Best Documentary (TV) award, and honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society for Professional Journalists, the Associated Press, and The National Headliner Awards. In 2005, Gonzales was named “Broadcast Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Brandi Howell

Brandi Howell is an experienced audio producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of her documentary work focuses on exploring the little known stories that shaped the urban and counterculture landscapes of 20th century US history.  Her work can be heard in audio guides produced for MoMA, SFMOMA, and stories for Afropop Worldwide, New Angle: Voice, America’s Test Kitchen, and other museums and public media outlets. In addition to Howell’s own production work, she works with The Kitchen Sisters, the Peabody award winning independent producers who create stories for NPR and other public media, where she has worked as a producer for seven years. 

Prior to her career in media, Howell worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations in San Francisco, including The Gladstone Institutes and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corps. She has her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from UC Berkeley and her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. When Howell is not deep in production of her next story, she can be found digging the crates of her favorite record stores looking for the next hidden audio gem for her growing collection of rarities.

Iris (Yi Youn) Kim

Iris (Yi Youn) Kim is a writer living in Los Angeles covering Asian American identity, politics, and culture. She also works in TV development on the HBO Max International Originals team. Her work has appeared in Salon, Slate, TIME, Delish, and Business Insider. She is a 2022 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow.

Regina Kim

Regina Kim is a freelance entertainment writer focusing on Korean pop culture. Her articles have appeared in Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, ELLE, NBC News, Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, MTV News and more. You can find some of her writings at reginakim.com.

Soo Youn

Soo Youn is a freelance journalist who writes for The Washington Post, The Guardian, NBC News, and Teen Vogue. She focuses on business, celebrities, gender, tech and culture. She has previously worked at ABC News, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporters and other publications. Soo has a B.A. cum laude in English from Amherst College and an M.S. from the Columbia University School of Journalism. From 2005 to 2006 she was a Fulbright Scholar in South Korea.