Six Editors Announced as Recipients of the 2026 ACES Holden Diversity Fellowship

Afia Agyapomaa Ofosu of Accra, Ghana, is a science journalist, climate storyteller, and communications specialist with 15+ years of experience. She creates and edits all communication materials for The Permagardens Foundation, which supports ecologically sound, climate-resilient permaculture principles by which families and communities can become food self-sufficient. Founder of the nonprofit Climazyn, which specializes in climate storytelling, Afia seeks to advance her editorial expertise in science and sustainability communication and to amplify underrepresented voices.

Afia plans to use her Holden funds to build better skills in science editing, developmental editing, and inclusive storytelling; to connect with other African and Global South editors and communicators; and to apply new knowledge to her daily work.

Inez Woody of Chicago, Illinois, is an independent editor and journalist with 20+ years of translating complexity into clarity. She has copyedited six published books and provides editing services, proofreading, manuscript review, book proposals, and coaching for authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs. She is committed to editing that protects voice, preserves meaning, and expands those whose stories are told and kept.

Inez plans to use her Holden funds to complete advanced editing courses through ACES, attend the 2027 ACES conference, and undertake investigative reporting and data journalism training to pursue more ambitious reporting projects.

Jasmine Stole of Guam is the publications editor at the University of Guam Press, the top publishing house in Micronesia, where she has edited a range of manuscripts from children’s literature to historical nonfiction to scholarly publications. A motivating factor for Jasmine is to preserve the oral stories of Micronesian cultures and to counter negative stereotypes of Micronesians and people from other islands. She is a past member of both ACES and the Indigenous Journalists Association.

Jasmine plans to use her Holden funds to take developmental editing courses online through UCLA and to complete the Poynter ACES Intermediate Certificate in Editing. She also hopes to develop and host a virtual, culturally responsive talk-story training for editors in her region to share what she has learned in her courses and to discuss editing challenges.

Stephanie Lenox of Salem, Oregon, is instructional editor of Chemeketa Press, a community-college-based publisher of affordable, accessible textbooks. She coaches faculty authors through the writing process, ensuring that their manuscripts meet standards of clarity, accessibility, equity, and inclusion. She is also the author of the forthcoming book The Elements of Inclusive Style: A Welcoming and Practical Guide for People Who Write, which is slated for publication in January 2027.

Stephanie, an ACES member, plans to use her Holden funds to pursue the ACES Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced certificates and to attend the 2027 ACES conference.

Logan Daly of Chicago, Illinois, is editorial and production associate at the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. She leads the editorial workflow across authors, publishers, the journal’s editorial board, and the American College of Surgeons staff, directing the processing of over 2,000 manuscript submissions each year. In her role, she has learned firsthand the importance of diversity and inclusion so that medical studies can achieve statistical validity.

Logan plans to use her Holden funds to take five courses in the University of Chicago Editing Certificate program, with a subsequent goal of attending a publication master’s program at Northwestern University, University College London, or Emerson College.

Kayla Brock of Chicago, Illinois, is a travel journalist with a background in social media strategy, editing, and copywriting. Her ambition has been pointed at developing further into an editor who champions thoughtful, inclusive storytelling, whether by commissioning diverse voices, strengthening editorial standards, or helping publications better understand the audiences they serve.

Kayla plans to use her Holden funds to complete the Poynter ACES Certificates in Editing; to invest in editing resources and professional memberships that support future growth; and to attend several forthcoming conferences, including the 2027 ACES conference.