Melissa Hellmann
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Melissa Hellmann’s Biography
Read Full Bio →I'm an award-winning reporter who covers racial, gender and economic inequality. My character-driven stories expose practices that disproportionately impact marginalized communities, and hold power accountable.
My reporting has taken me to the homes of migrant families in the outskirts of Beijing, China; Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank; and a Tacoma, Washington detention center where detainees alleged their medical needs were ignored. Along with being featured in local and national radio …
Melissa Hellmann’s Journalist Portfolio
Awards
See all 11 awards →SABEW’s Best in Business Award
2023 - Explanatory — small division
I contributed to a series that looked at how state taxes disproportionately impacts low-income people, which won first place in the national SABEW awards.
NICAR Fellowship
2023
I received a NICAR fellowship from IRE to attend the 2023 NICAR conference, which covered admission, hotel and travel costs.
Solutions Journalism Network’s Journalists of Color Fellowship
2023
I am one of nine selected for the nine-month fellowship that trains mid-career journalists of color to move into leadership and management positions.
New Bridge Program
2022 - Transatlantic Exchange Fellowship
I was selected to participate in a highly competitive, fully-funded transatlantic exchange program throughout Germany and Belgium in Oct. 2022 with Atlantik-Brucke.
National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Award
2022 - Features
The article 'Zoom bombings that target marginalized people spark demands for legal protections' was a features story newspaper finalist in the 2022 NABJ Salute to Excellence award.
Society of Professional Journalists Award
2022 - Arts and Culture Reporting
My article titled ‘A renewed cultural focus in White Center bolsters sense of Khmer community’ placed second in the Society of Professional Journalists contest out of work from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
Lenfest Next Generation Award
2022 - Professional Development Grant
As a Lenfest Next Generation Fund winner, I used the award to attend an Investigative Reporters & Editors data journalism bootcamp where I upleveled my data skills.
Society of Professional Journalists Award
2019 - Investigative reporting
First-place award in SPJ’s Northwest Excellence contest for an article about alleged medical negligence at the Northwest Detention Center.
Society of Professional Journalists Award
2019 - Food, travel and lifestyle
Second-place award for an article about the closure of a Cambodian restaurant, and its impact on the local Khmer community.
Society of Professional Journalists Award
2018 - Crime and Justice Reporting
First place award for the Pacific Northwest chapter of SPJ for an article about the Block the Bunker coalition, which successfully convinced the city to halt construction of what was slated to be the most expensive police station in the nation.
Surda Reporting Fellowship
2016
As a yearlong reporting fellow, I covered the criminal justice system and reproductive health throughout the nation for YES! Magazine. I completed the role by reporting a series on access to reproductive health care in Kentucky.