CAMBRIDGE, MA—The Center for International Studies at MIT announces today that Louisa Reynolds, an independent journalist based in Guatemala City, Guatemala, has been selected as the 2014-15 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow.The award is offered through the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) and is sponsored in part by CIS.

Reynolds is the tenth recipient of the annual fellowship, which gives a woman journalist the opportunity to develop expertise while focusing on human rights journalism and social justice issues.

Reynolds, 33, covers human rights cases, femicide and gender-based violence in Guatemala. "I strongly believe that journalism can act as a powerful instrument for change by highlighting injustice and also by finding stories that prove that a transformation is possible," she said. Reynolds has contributed regularly to Latinamerica Press / Noticias Aliadas, Inter-Press Service, Plaza Pública, Proseco, El Periódico, and other publications since 2011. Previously, she was a reporter for El Periódico and an editor for Inforpress Centroamericana.

Beginning in September, Reynolds will spend the seven-month fellowship as a research associate in residence at CIS. She will also complete internships at The Boston Globe and The New York Times.

Ellen Clegg, president of the Boston Globe Foundation and Globe spokeswoman, said, "Each Neuffer fellow embodies the core principles that our beloved colleague, Elizabeth Neuffer, held dear: courageous journalism, boundless curiosity, and a burning desire to shine a light on injustice. Ten years out, we're proud to see how the fellows have made their mark on the world."

"It's truly an honor for CIS to host the Neuffer fellows each academic year. Louisa is yet another example of a courageous journalist whose work is transforming lives. We look forward to her time at MIT," said Richard Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of CIS.

The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship is a project of the Elizabeth Neuffer IWMF Fund, which is generously supported by Peter Canellos, Mark Neuffer, Carolyn Lee, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Boston Globe Foundation, The New York Times Company Foundation, Boston Scientific, MIT Center for International Studies and friends and family of Elizabeth Neuffer.