SPEL Team | Equipo de SPEL
Christine MacDonald
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Christine is an investigative reporter, who has had a long career writing for top-ranked newspapers, such as the Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News and Washington Post. As the Executive Director, she leads the organization’s Storytelling Program for Experiential Learning (SPEL), a weekly story lab that brings together high school and college interns and young adult fellows to produce articles and special research projects published on the Hola Cultura’s website.
Stefanny Leung Yu
Social Media Fellow
Stefanny (she/her) is an Asian-American with a rich, bicultural background, born and raised in Venezuela to Chinese parents. Her identity merges the cultural richness of South America with her Chinese heritage, having learned Chinese at home and Spanish at school. In 2017 at the age of 16, Stefanny moved alone to New York City with just a bag of belongings, facing numerous challenges but finding inspiration and support from her teachers, all of which helped her graduate high school with high honors. She continued her academic journey at Queens College, City University of New York and earned a bachelor’s degree in English with double minors in media studies and animation and illustration, becoming the first college graduate in her family. Now pursuing a master’s degree in media studies, Stefanny works part-time as a social media content creator and blogger for three different non-profit organizations. Her skills in creative writing and research, combined with her passion for learning and innovation, drive her aspiration to bring creativity and compelling storytelling to media. As a polymath who values the pursuit of knowledge, Stefanny is dedicated to exploring a wide range of interests. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, skateboarding, baking and reading.
Yoana Reyes-Zapata
Organizational Communications Fellow
Yoana (she/her/ella) is a first-generation Mexican-American and a recent Furman University graduate. She is located in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, where she received her B.A. in communication media studies and minored in film studies, Latin American culture and Latinx studies and visual strategy. While in college Yoana was involved in Hispanic Outreach and Latinx Awareness (H.O.L.A.), her university’s Latino student organization, and her time with them made an impact in choosing her next steps within her professional career and wanting to work closely within Latino communities. Some of her hobbies include watching movies, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Arts & Humanities Team
Stephanie Alto-Parada
Editorial Co-Fellow
Stephanie (she/her) was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in the beautiful country of El Salvador, where her parents are from. She attended William Paterson University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in communications with a concentration in media production. Stephanie is passionate about video production, journalism, marketing and business. She is currently an editorial fellow for Hola Cultura and works as a content creator and entrepreneur.
Eduardo Coyotzi Zarate
Editorial Co-Fellow
Eduardo (he/him) grew up in Oxnard, California, and moved to Maryland in 2022. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and is the communications associate at Rails to Trails Conservancy. Eduardo enjoys being outdoors and makes it a priority to go for a walk at least once a day. He also enjoys exploring the many food options in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia areas.
Chioma Ukaobasi
Editorial Intern
Chioma (she/her), born and raised in Washington, D.C., is a 16-year-old junior attending School Without Walls High School. She currently works at another non-profit organization called the Young Women’s Project, where she improves her social skills to educate her peers about their health and taking action in bringing reforms to schools in D.C. Chioma’s hobbies include watching TV shows and movies, listening to music and occasionally writing short stories or poems. She’s always had an interest in film and would love to pursue either an acting or writing career.
Grace Whitsel
Editorial Intern
Grace (she/her) is a junior at School Without Walls High School in Washington, D.C., where she was born and raised. She has gotten involved with her community, working at the Young Women’s Project and various recreation and youth centers around D.C. to help advocate for and provide education. Grace loves D.C. and is excited to return for her second semester at Hola Cultura to write about the plethora of arts in the city.
Jaeline Perez
Social Media Intern
Jaeline (she/her) is a first-generation college student from Virginia. She is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mass communications with a concentration in creative advertising. Outside of her studies, Jaeline enjoys crocheting, ice skating and thrifting. She is eager to work with Hola Cultura, not only in order to gain valuable skills and insights but also to use her creativity to make a positive impact. Jaeline’s professional ambition is to become an art director.
Lily Hardwig
Editorial Intern
Lily (she/her) is a writer and case manager at an immigration law firm based in Michigan but lives in Washington, D.C. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in English literature and global studies, Lily worked with the local Latine community at Centro Hispano de East Tennessee. In 2023 Lily moved to Mexico City, living there for a year before coming back to the United States for work. She is thrilled to be part of the team this year and have the opportunity to tell exciting stories of/alongside the local community!
Olivia Olson
Editorial Intern
Olivia (they/she) is a recent graduate from American University, where she studied international studies with a focus on identity, race, gender and culture. She has built her understanding of the Latine diaspora and migrant communities’ dynamics through independent studies. Olivia is passionate about art activism and working in communities, specifically by integrating creative methods as cultural production and change-making tools. She also enjoys writing, especially focusing on storytelling and poetry, and she plans to pursue a master’s degree in journalism in the future. Olivia is looking forward to working with the Arts and Humanities team and using social media as an art-sharing platform!
Tricia De Souza
Editorial Intern
Tricia (she/her) is a Brazilian-American who was born in Fortaleza, Ceará, and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She completed her B.A. in history with a minor in Africana studies from Williams College. There, she researched Latin American and Caribbean revolutions, with a particular interest in the Haitian Revolution and its global reverberations. Most recently, Tricia completed a U.S. Fulbright Research grant in Brazil that allowed her to study at the Federal University of Pernambuco while living in the tropical, northeastern capital of Recife. In addition to her love of history and storytelling, Tricia’s other passions include rowing, running, learning languages (she is currently trying to teach herself French) and exploring her new home, Washington, D.C.
Society & Culture Team
Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe
Editorial Co-Fellow
Marcelo is a journalist and video producer. As an editorial fellow in 2021, he led a youth reporting group and co-wrote an investigative series on D.C.’s heat islands. The story mapped temperature differences across the city and examined the disproportionate effects extreme heat can have on D.C.’s residents. He is the host of Hola Cultura’s podcast “The Climate Divide,” which examines D.C.’s heat islands and related health disparities along racial, ethnic and class lines.
Lori Rampani
Editorial Co-Fellow
Lori (she/her) is a journalist based in São Paulo, Brazil. She recently graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with a B.A. in international studies and Spanish. In the past, Lori worked in bilingual media outlets such as Voz de América and Telemundo 44. She also interned with NBC News, covering the latest from Capitol Hill. Lori is currently working with Hola Cultura on an investigative project. She is excited to co-lead the Society and Culture team this summer!
Jamie Orozco
Editorial Intern
Jamie (she/they) is an English student studying critical studies at the University of Wisconsin. Born and raised in Mexico City, she now lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where she writes about life in town for her university’s newspaper. Jamie enjoys going to cafés, walking downtown and baking for their friends. Besides writing, they have a love for history and art, which she gets to explore with her minor in classical studies. After graduation, Jamie wants to earn a master’s in journalism and move to the East Coast.
Karolina Montalvo
Editorial Intern
Karolina (she/her) is a first-year student studying journalism and political science at George Washington University. She was born in Lyon, France, and lived there for five years before her family settled back in Greenville, South Carolina, which she wholeheartedly calls her home. Karolina is a reporter and videographer for The Hatchet, her college’s independent newspaper. She loves to run, cook and watch films and reflexive documentaries. Karolina hopes to get further involved in journalism and is excited to narrow her professional focus throughout her college experience.
Sbeyde Herrera
Editorial Intern
Sbeyde (she/her) is a San Jose State University senior majoring in English, professional and technical writing. Her curiosity tends to lead her to discover new things, and thus it is her passion to express difficult topics in a way that is more understandable through a literary style. She seeks to further immerse herself in storytelling by pursuing a career in journalism and publishing, hoping to travel and explore various cultures. In addition to writing, some of Sbeyde’s other hobbies include reading, hiking, ice skating and playing guitar.
Sofia Mellado Fritz
Social Media Intern
Born and raised in Mexico, Sofia (she/her) is currently based in Michigan. She is a senior pursuing a degree in advertising design. Sofia has a passion for art, painting and drawing in her free time, as well as exploring the local art scene wherever she may be.
Copy Editing Team
Michelle Benitez
Copy Editing Fellow
Michelle (she/her) is a first-generation Mexican-American from Naples, Florida. She recently graduated from Florida State University with a double major in editing, writing and media and Spanish. During her time at Florida State, she developed a passion for text production/publications that promote Latine voices and challenge the current publishing industry’s market. Michelle aspires to become a developmental editor for a publishing house and enjoys bowling, reading and window shopping.
Mariana Benitez Arreola
Copy Editing Intern
Mariana (she/her) was born and raised in San Jose, California. She currently attends the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has relocated to Washington, D.C. for her last quarter. Mariana is currently double majoring in sociology and Latin American and Iberian studies. Additionally she is pursuing a professional writing minor with an emphasis in civic engagement. Her hobbies include dancing, reading, photography, traveling and writing. As an aspiring writer, she hopes to change cultural misrepresentations within mainstream media and highlight stories about people who are at the margins of society. Mariana aims to publish work having to do with storytelling and the preservation of history. Participating in Hola Cultura will be a great stepping stone for Mariana as she hopes to gain more exposure to the process of editing and story generation.
Matthew Macgugan
Copy Editing Intern
Matthew (he/him) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is currently pursuing a B.F.A. in journalism from San Francisco State University. Matthew has done reporting work for Golden Gate Xpress, a student-run publication covering the arts and entertainment beat. He has an interest in social justice journalism, focusing on covering communities that are typically underreported in the traditional media landscape. Matthew enjoys taking solo trips around California and beyond. He also enjoys exercising and spending the day at the beach.