We’re sharing a highlight from the 2026 IIJ Freelance Conference: Kavitha Cardoza’s keynote conversation with Katherine Reynolds Lewis! Kavitha received the 2026 American Mosaic Prize, for her independent coverage of children, education, health and poverty. She has reported for the Hechinger Report and NPR, and she’s an assistant professor for journalism at the University of Richmond.

You don’t want to miss this deep dive into Kavitha’s career journey, how she avoids extractive reporting, dealing with rejection, her freelance pitching process, and her insights for journalists who want to make the jump into academia.

Katherine Reynolds Lewis is the founder of the Institute for Independent Journalists and special projects editor for the Greater Good  ...