St. Paul Pioneer Press metro columnist Ruben Rosario was named a finalist for the ASNE's Batten Medal this year, as well as awarded first place for general column writing for the fourth time in six years in the 2008 Minnesota SPJ "Page One" competition. City Pages, the Twin Cities' alternative weekly, also selected Rosario as the "Best Reason To Read The Pioneer Press'' in its annual "Best of the Twin Cities'' edition.

Veronica Villafañe, a past NAHJ president and Los Angeles-based freelance reporter/producer, is among the 14 fellows selected to participate in the German/American Journalist Exchange Program. Since 1992, the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (RTNDF) has administered a media fellowship as part of its German/American Journalist Exchange Program with the RIAS Berlin Kommission. The RIAS Berlin Kommission is a bi-national organization established in 1992 to promote understanding between the United States and Germany in the field of broadcasting.

Five NAHJ members will participate in CNN’s first “Learn by Doing” Digital Media Workshop set for April 24 & 25 at CNN Center in Atlanta. They are: Florangela Davila, Writer, lifestyle & culture, The Seattle Times; Erika Cebreros, Associate Editor, El Mensajero Newspaper, San Francisco; Sara A. Fajardo, Photographer, Orlando Sentinel; Ernesto Mourelo, Assistant News Director, KVEA Telemundo O&O, Los Angeles and Elio Leturia, Visual Journalism Class Supervisor, Columbia College, Chicago. They are among the 20 journalists selected for the program, which was open to members of NAHJ, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA).

Gina Cortez was recognized by the New Orleans City Business Magazine as one of the top 50 women in the New Orleans metro area. The magazine’s 9th annual Women of the Year Award recognized successes in business and contributions to the community. Cortez was recognized for her continued communications work with the Hispanic community in the greater New Orleans area

Kathy Carvajal is promoted to be the website producer for WNYW Fox 5 News in New York. She was previously a staff writer/producer for the same channel.

Stephanie Espinoza becomes a news designer at the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. She was formerly a news designer at The Tampa Tribune.

McNelly Torres becomes a member of the newly formed Consumer Affairs Team at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She was formerly a government reporter for the newspaper.

Hector Amezcua is part of a team that receives the website award given by the Overseas Press Club of America for his series, “The Pineros: Men of the Pines,” which highlighted the abuse of Latin American migrants working in the forests of California.

Rebecca Aguilar is voted best television reporter in Texas by the Texas Associated Press.

April Hunt, who covers social-service issues for the Orlando Sentinel, is named a fellow of the 2006 Fourth Estate and The Third Sector program at Marshall University in West Virginia. She will participate in a national training program for journalists who cover non-profits, the only program of its kind.

Lesley Téllez becomes a staff writer at Quick, a daily newspaper aimed at 18-34 year-olds which is owned and distributed by The Dallas Morning News. Téllez was previously freelancing and was a lead reporter at Conexión, a bilingual weekly owned by The San Antonio Express-News.

Valerie Zavala receives the Avance Award given by Hispanic Americans for Fairness in Media, based in Los Angeles. Zavala receives the award for her integrity and longevity in broadcast journalism.

Johnny Diaz becomes a living/arts writer for The Boston Globe. He was formerly a city weekly writer for the newspaper.

Rich Lopez becomes the music listings and clubs editor at the Dallas Observer. He was previously an intern at the same newspaper.

Melissa Rincon receives the bronze award for outstanding business article in the Jose Marti Awards given by the National Association of Hispanic Publications.

George Ramos was recognized as one of the 50 most influential Latinos on California’s Central Coast as selected by the readers of Latino Today, a monthly newspaper. Ramos was honored for his guidance of the journalism department at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo as well as his continued support for fair news coverage of Latinos in the community.

Ayn Carrillo-Gailey becomes the “Sex Y L.A.” relationship columnist for Tu Ciudad magazine in Los Angeles. Her new book, Pornology, will also be released later this year. Before magazines and books, Carrillo-Gailey was a script writer for TV and film.

Melissa Sanchez is accepted to the Knight Foundation’s minority writers seminar at Vanderbilt University. She also becomes a cops reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram where she had previously been a stringer covering all things Dallas.

Mailyn Salabarría receives third place for best public service given by the Colorado Press Association for a story she wrote about classes available for recent immigrants to learn English in her community.

María-Belén Moran is profiled as “person of the month” in the upcoming Cox newsletter. Moran also becomes the news and assignment director at the Spanish-language weekly, MundoHispánico, in Georgia. She was formerly a general assignment reporter and editorial assistant at the Associated Press in San Francisco.

Michele Salcedo becomes the national-foreign editor at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She was formerly an assistant city editor for race/demographics at the newspaper.

Pia Malbran receives a national EMMY for outstanding investigative reporting of a business story. She received the award for a series of investigative reports called “Ford Fires,” about a defect in Ford vehicles.

Oriol Gutierrez is promoted to executive director of the DiversityInc Foundation, which supports and promotes diversity management research and education. He will also be the editorial director of new publications such as The Journal of Diversity Management and DiversityInc.org. He was formerly managing editor of DiversityInc Media.

Carleth Keys wins an AP Florida award for best short hard feature in 2006. She received the award for a series of reports in Spanish about the terror coalition in Tampa’s central command and the role of Latin American countries in the military strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Keys works for Bay News 9 en Español.

Joe Cortez begins his career as a general assignment reporter at The Coast News in Grover Beach, California. He received his degree from The College of Wooster in Ohio.

Karla Mariscal is promoted to be the weekday 5 p.m. newscast anchor for Univision Channel 26 in El Paso, Texas. She will also anchor and produce the 10 p.m. newscast. She was formerly a producer and anchor for the weekend newscasts of that channel. Mariscal also receives a second place award for best anchor by the Texas Associated Press.

Sandra Gonzalez receives the Associated Press Mark Twain award for best coverage of an ongoing story for her work on a series of reports about the death of a serviceman and its aftermath for his family. She also receives the RTNDA Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for best hard news feature for her story about the widow of the serviceman.

María-Leticia Gómez receives the Associated Press Television and Radio Association’s award for best anchor in the states of California and Nevada. This is the third consecutive year Gómez receives this award.

Elio Leturia begins a new job as a journalism professor at Columbia College in Chicago. Leturia formerly worked at The Detroit Free Press where he worked as a features designer for 10 years.

Luis Cruz receives a regional RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for spot news. Cruz was part of a team at KYMA-TV in Yuma, AZ that received the award for their coverage of a Harrier crash in their community.

Gilbert Sanchez receives a first place Goldie Award in the radio division for service to the community given by the Alaska Broadcasters Association. Sanchez’s award marks the first time this award has been given to a Spanish-language program by the association.