This year was marked by sadness, as we lost our dear friend and colleague Henry Fuhrmann, who had served as the Education Fund president for several years and had been an influential member of ACES for much longer. In addition to being an excellent and thoughtful editor, Henry was a kind and generous person, who mentored and guided countless journalists and editors over the course of his career. In his honor, the Education Fund partnered with AAJA-LA, which Henry was also heavily involved with, to present an award to an influential mentor. The winner will be announced at the Celebration of Life for Henry in Los Angeles in February.
After Henry’s death, I stepped into his role, having been elected vice president at the San Antonio conference, and Maisha Maurant became the new Education Fund vice president.
The Education Fund continued its mission to promote education and training for editors, raising nearly $14,000 in 2022. The ACES scholarships support the next generation of editors, and the Holden Diversity Fellowships support early- and mid-career editors. Seven college students and three professional fellows received awards in 2022.
The 2021-22 scholarship winners were: Rossilynne Culgan of Columbia University, Ian Krietzberg of the College of New Jersey, Arisbeth Rodriguez of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Katie Sawyer of Aarhus University and University of Amsterdam. The Aubespin scholar was Brooke James of Brigham Young University, and the joint Walsh scholars were Caleigh Bartash of the University of Maryland and Jill Rice of Fordham College at Lincoln Center. The Aubespin scholarship, a $2,500 award, honors Merv Aubespin, an early proponent of the formation of ACES. The Bill Walsh scholarship, a $3,500 award, is named for the late Washington Post copy editor, author, and member of the Education Fund board of directors, and is awarded to a college student who aspires to edit the news.
Education Fund board member Alex Cruden and I coordinated the scholarship competitions, as we did last year. The judges for the Walsh award were Bill’s wife, Jacqueline Dupree, whose generosity established the award in 2017, as well as Mark Allen, Carrie Camillo, and Bill’s brothers, Kenneth Walsh and Terence Walsh. Longtime ACES volunteers Lindsay Augustyn, Carol Carpenter, Jeff Kleinman and Sabrina Starrett were joined by recent ACES scholarship winner Chandler Boese to judge the Aubespin and ACES scholarship competitions.
Three fellows make up the third cohort of the Holden Diversity Fellowship: Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez of Cheyenne, Wyoming, a health and parenting writer and associate editor of the digital community Kindred, which provides resources for Black families to raise thriving children; Eryka Parker of Cleveland, Ohio, who owns and operates a literary agency, offers affordable editing services for aspiring authors, and serves as a writing coach, book coach, and consultant to independent publishing companies; and CaTyra Polland of Rochester, New York, an independent author and freelance manuscript editor, copywriter, professional speaker and podcaster.
The Holden Fellowship program, begun in 2020, is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion by advancing early- and mid-career professionals in their work as editors and aspiring industry leaders. The fellowship recognizes the work of the late Rich Holden, who championed diversity in editing as the longtime managing director for the Dow Jones News Fund. Our thanks to this year’s judges, Lindsey O’Donnell, Edgar Ramirez and Education Fund board member Paula Fuchsberg.
Kristen Barrett won the ninth annual ACES Education Fund Spelling Bee in San Antonio, which Merrill Perlman of the Education Fund board again organized. The Scripps National Spelling Bee provided the word lists. Lingofy returned as the Bee’s presenting sponsor, generously providing Apple electronics as prizes. The 2023 Spelling Bee is already open for registration, and for anyone who was wondering, the Silent Auction will return in Columbus!
The Education Fund thanks all of its donors for their continuing generosity and support of the scholarships and fellowships, through donations at the conference and the ACES Spelling Bee, on #GivingTuesday, along with membership renewals and more.
Looking ahead to the first quarter of the new year, the Education Fund board will announce the 2022-23 scholarship winners, raise funds at the conference in March, and open applications for the fourth cohort of Holden Fellows.
Read More:
End of The Year Reflection from ACES President
2022 Year End Summary from ACES Executive Director
