Boise State Public Radio is excited to announce Rachel Cohen as a 2022-2023 National Science-Health-Environment Reporting fellow (SHERF).
Started in 2021, the fellowships are a collaboration of the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW) and the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). Cohen is one of 12 journalists selected for this year's cohort.
The program is designed to support early-career journalists who are pursuing reporting in the fields of science, health or environment by providing intensive training, mentoring and networking opportunities while still maintaining their regular employment.
"I'm very excited about the plentiful learning opportunities this fellowship will provide and to deepen my understanding of health and environmental issues that are important to Idahoans," Cohen said.
She originally joined the Boise State Public Radio News team in 2019 as a Report for America fellow. Since then her reporting has won numerous awards and recognition, both locally and nationally. Just this past year, Cohen won best in feature reporting in the national Edward R. Murrow awards competition for her story on a Boise nurse who wrote a poem after a particularly taxing night during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Rachel has being doing outstanding health care stories and this fellowship will expand and elevate her reporting,” said Boise State Public Radio News Director Sáša Woodruff. “We’re thrilled she was chosen for this opportunity.”
Funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Department of Science Education and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the SHERF fellowship offers a curriculum of basic science, interpreting medical studies, analyzing data, explaining evidence-based decisions, understanding climate science and more.
“Today’s science, health, or environmental reporter needs to be able to cover all these topics well and understand how they intersect with each other and a wealth of social, cultural, and political issues,” said Rosalind Reid, CASW executive director. “This extraordinarily accomplished and diverse group of fellows will gain important skills, knowledge, and connections for covering issues critical to regional and national audiences.”
