Our Panelists
Jose Carlos Fajardo
East Bay Times Photojournalist
Jose Carlos Fajardo is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning photojournalist at the East Bay Times based in Walnut Creek, California.
He began his 25-year career working as a photo technician in 1994 before starting as a full-time staff photographer in 1997 for the Bay Area News Group. Fajardo, who is known for his striking sports photographs, covers both collegiate and professional sports teams like the Golden State Warriors, Oakland A’s and San Francisco 49ers. Most notably, he has covered four World Series, five NBA Championships and four Super Bowls.
Aside from sports, Fajardo also documents breaking news stories such as wildfires and protests, with the recent addition of COVID-19 coverage. When he isn’t working, Fajardo enjoys photographing his dog and son and finds joy in capturing fascinating moments around his community.
Fajardo’s prestigious work has received national recognition throughout his lustrous career. In 2018, the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter awarded Fajardo for his portfolio of compelling sports images and captivating moments captured in the community. His plethora of accolades include a first-place award in 2011 for Monthly Digital Clip Contest from the San Francisco Bay Area Press Photographers Association, a top honor for his portfolio work at the 33rd annual Excellence in Journalism awards and many more.
Recently, Fajardo’s team won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the Oakland Ghost Ship fire in 2017. The team consisted of reporters, photojournalists, graphic designers and page designers. Though difficult to cover, Fajardo says the work was “crucial in telling the story of the survivors and the 36 people that didn’t make it.”
The biggest takeaway Fajardo has for aspiring journalists is to look for details and try to document the events as if the viewer is not present in the scene. Fajardo’s biggest piece of advice for those wanting to pursue a career in this field is to find a mentor whose work you admire and can learn from their style. He also says his main goal is to make a difference and continue doing so because there is a lot of good work to be done to change the world. His job can be tolling at times, but Fajardo focuses on meditation and breathing exercises to decompress.
He continues to approach these unprecedented times with the same truth-seeking attitude, exploring different ways to tell a story with today’s challenges.
Check out his work in the gallery below!
Bethany Barnes
Tampa Bay Times Reporter
Bethany Barnes has been an investigative reporter for the Tampa Bay Times in Florida since December 2018. Barnes started her investigative reporting career in June 2013 working for the Las Vegas Sun. Following her work with the Sun, Barnes was hired by the Las Vegas Review Journal where she worked from June of 2014 to June of 2016.
Over Barnes’ three years in Las Vegas, she covered a variety of beats and pulled off many investigations. In July of 2016, Barnes began working as a reporter for The Oregonian where she garnered considerable attention for her coverage of the Portland Public Schools, winning her the award for Best Education Beat Reporter from the Education Writers Association in 2018.
Barnes is a fellow Wildcat alumna with a bachelor’s degree in creative nonfiction and a master’s degree in journalism. Barnes discovered a love of journalism while working for the Daily Wildcat, the University of Arizona’s independent student newspaper.
Some of Barnes’ notable awards and accomplishments include The Nevada Press Association 2015 Journalist of Merit, Nevada Press Association 2016 Outstanding Journalist, Education Writers Association’s Ronald Moskowitz Prize for Outstanding Beat Reporting 2018, best news/ feature reporting for medium-sized newsrooms 2018, and Best of the West, News Writing 2019. Barnes also has volunteer experience as a board member on the Investigative Reporters and Editors Non- Profit Organization since June 2019.
Barnes’ passions include local journalism. She is one of five journalists involved in putting together a weekly newsletter known as Local Matters which compiles the nation’s best local investigative reporting.
Dr. Stephen Paul
University of Arizona Physician
Dr. Stephen Paul is a physician at the University of Arizona’s Campus Health Service. Paul attended medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas.
After graduation, Paul served a residency in family medicine at the University of Arizona. He also completed a sports medicine fellowship at the Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopedics in Phoenix, Arizona. Paul is board certified by the Academy of Family Practitioners. Paul serves in a multitude of positions both within and without the Campus Health Service. His specialties at Campus Health include primary care and sports medicine. In addition, Paul is the assistant team physician for University of Arizona intercollegiate sports, clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and the director of the University of Arizona Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship since its founding in 2003.
Paul was inspired by his father, also a physician, to study for a career in medicine. In addition to practicing medicine Paul coached women’s soccer for 10 years. A day in Paul’s pre-COVID life included work at the Campus Health Service and with University of Arizona athletes. Now a large part of his job is keeping the campus community, including athletes on the university’s football team, safe from Covid-19.
Jasmine Demers
Arizona Daily Star Reporter
Jasmine Demers is a governmental affairs reporter at the Arizona Daily Star located in Tucson, Arizona.
Demers graduated from California State University, San Marcos with a bachelor’s degree in communication and graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona.
She got her start as a reporter in 2015 when she began working as a features writer for Gumption Magazine, a publication that seeks to inspire and reach out to women all over the world. For nearly two years, Demers worked in editorial positions at the Cougar Chronicle, the independent student newspaper of California State University, San Marcos (CSU-San Marcos). Her work at the Cougar Chronicle was followed by a position as a student affairs marketing and promotions assistant for CSU-San Marcos. Demers has also worked as a communication specialist with the University of Arizona Soil, Water and Environmental Science Department (SWES).
She also served in editorial positions with the Daily Wildcat, the University of Arizona’s independent student newspaper from February 2018 until May 2019. Demers was the Wildcat Editor-in-Chief for a year. She began working for the Arizona Daily Star in June of 2019.
With so much social unrest and political tension this year, Demers has been especially busy covering topics like both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ stops in Tucson and the city’s elimination of police at voting sites. In addition, Demers has covered a variety of topics related to COVID-19, such as speaking with Pima County Health Department’s Chief Medical Officer, Francisco Garcia, highlighting Quality of Life Medical and Research Center’s efforts to recruit participants in a COVID-19 vaccine trial and various UA responses to the pandemic.