March 30, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Journal Team Expands with Kansas Health Foundation Grant for Bilingual News and Civic Information
WICHITA, Kan. – A collaboration funded through a $50,000 Kansas Health Foundation grant will support increased news coverage of civic issues for Kansas Latinos, including Spanish-speaking audiences across the state.
The opportunity brings together the Kansas Leadership Center, a first-of-its-kind educational nonprofit, and AB&C Bilingual Resources, LLC, a communications firm owned by Wichita entrepreneur and KLC teacher Claudia Yaujar-Amaro, to expand access to news and information Latinos need to engage in civic life.
The grant allowed KLC and AB&C Bilingual Resources to hire Stefania Lugli, a bilingual journalist, as a full-time civic engagement reporter for KLC’s nationally award-winning civic issues magazine, The Journal. The bulk of Lugli’s time will be spent covering topics of interest to Kansas Latinos for Planeta Venus, a Spanish-language digital and print media resource published by AB&C Bilingual Resources and distributed across the region.
Claudia Amaro
“The Spanish-speaking community has lived in Kansas for many years without a reliable source of local news,” Amaro said. “With the rapid growth of the Latino community in the country, and the amount of disinformation and misinformation available, today more than ever it is necessary to keep our communities informed. We are excited to be the pioneers along with the Kansas Leadership Center and the support of the Kansas Health Foundation in the commitment to generate quality bilingual journalism with a Latino perspective in our state.”
Lugli returns to Wichita after working as a reporter for the Sarasota Herald Tribune. She previously served as a watchdog reporter for The Wichita Beacon. She also has experience working for The Boston Globe and the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting in Boston, Massachusetts.
Stefania Lugli
“I’m honored to return to a position of public service for a community I adore,” Lugli said. “Journalism, to me, is an act of civic duty and compassion. I’m grateful for the Foundation’s choice to support my work as a Latina professional — even more so when the work aims to energize and uplift an underserved population.”
The collaboration also will allow The Journal to bridge cultural and linguistic divides through its coverage and events and enhance social cohesion in Kansas civic life.
Chris Green
“We are grateful for the Kansas Health Foundation’s support in helping us reach more Kansans with high-quality, accurate information that energizes community-level leadership and civic engagement,” said Chris Green, the executive editor of The Journal.
Planeta Venus started in 2014 as a local Spanish radio talk show in Wichita Kansas. Over the years, it has evolved into an online radio station, podcast and digital and print newspaper, positioning itself as a reliable source of information for the Latino community in Wichita and Southwest Kansas.
The Journal, KLC’s multiplatform magazine, is known for covering complex, difficult topics in fair, accurate and thought-provoking ways. It won a national award for public service in magazine journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for its coverage of water issues in 2019.
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About the Kansas Leadership Center
The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) is a first-of-its-kind nonprofit educational organization with a civic mission, national reputation and global reach. Founded in 2007 to foster leadership for stronger, healthier and more prosperous Kansas communities, KLC receives core funding from the Kansas Health Foundation (a private, philanthropic organization). It partners with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, businesses and communities to build cultures that are healthy, productive and well-positioned to make measurable progress on daunting challenges and emergent opportunities. KLC Press publishes leadership books and The Journal, a nationally recognized, award-winning civic issues magazine.
Over the past 15 years, KLC has built a strong and respected institution in Kansas designed to deliver leadership development and culture change at unparalleled scale. Now, organizations across the country and around the world look to us to provide resources and consultation to support their own aspirations for mission-driven leadership education. Learn more at kansasleadershipcenter.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Carrie Lindeman
316-393-1076
[email protected]
