In December 2023, INMA and Google News Initiative (GNI) awarded their fourth annual Elevate Scholarship to 50 news media professionals from 31 countries. This series features these impressive media professionals who are shaping our industry. 

As a journalist and digital producer at Radio Ambulante Studios in Ecuador, Desirée Yépez uses her position to speak up for others. Throughout her career, the stories she has pursued reflect her ongoing dedication to human rights and gender issues — a commitment she said is an extension of her life as a young girl.

“I’m committed to those stories that also speak about where I come from. I’ve always felt the need to report on women’s issues [and] understand what happened with women from undercover communities, like Afro-Ecuadorean ones — because I’m part of it.”

Her work often covers topics that people find uncomfortable, but she said exposing things that “people don’t want to see” has the power to reshape communities. Desirée’s award-winning reporting has been featured in international media outlets such as El País, HuffPost, and Exile Content.

In 2020, with support from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), Desirée founded Silenciadas, a platform that exposed femicides in Ecuador during the isolation of the pandemic. This initiative inspired a book that was published in 2022. And, as a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University from September 2022 to June 2023, she designed a programme to encourage young women and girls in information deserts to pursue journalism.

Her commitment to such causes hasn’t gone unnoticed, earning her recognition from the German Cooperation for her work on women’s rights and equality in 2019 and winning the Jorge Mantilla Ortega Award, Ecuador’s most prestigious journalism prize, in 2020 and 2022 for her coverage of issues faced by vulnerable populations.

Since August 2023, Desirée has been part of the news product department at Radio Ambulante Studios, the world’s leading Spanish-language podcast production company. In this role, she supports the company’s growth by creating new projects and working closely with the new projects director. Her responsibilities span both editorial and business areas, reflecting her versatility and interest in media innovation.

As an Elevate Scholarship recipient, she looks forward to further developing her skills and entrenching herself deeper into the news media industry through podcast production:

“I’m just getting into this world that the news business demands. And I feel excited about it,” Desirée said. “As the only black Latin American woman in the company, I think the Elevate Scholarship is an excellent opportunity to strengthen my leadership abilities and keep growing within the podcast industry.”

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