Fully Fund the Nick Oza Visual Fellowship
Thanks to your generous donations this summer we were able to officially launch the Inaugural Altavoz Lab Nick Oza Visual Fellowship, honoring the legacy of a beloved photojournalist in Arizona and beyond. Nick Oza believed in journalism grounded in empathy, humility, and human connection. This fellowship carries that belief forward by offering mentorship, training, and financial support to documentary photographers across the Southwest who tell the stories of their own communities — often those overlooked in mainstream coverage — helping them to continue documenting their worlds with dignity and care.
To support the fellowship and resources we will offer to our future fellow, we still need to raise $15,000. This is really a grassroots effort: most donations come from photojournalists and reporters from near and far, as well as family of course! We’re hoping for your continued support to reach our final goal.
On January 18, 2026, we will open a call for applicants in Arizona, New Mexico and underrepresented areas in the Southwest. Your tax deductible contribution ensures that community-rooted photographers — many bilingual, bicultural, and deeply trusted — have the tools to tell the stories that matter most and often go untold.
The goal of the fellowship is to help photographers deepen their visual language and grow through mentorship and collaboration. Here’s how we will do it together:
The mentor for the inaugural fellow will be Roberto “Bear” Guerra, Visuals Editor at High Country News, a nonprofit magazine known for thoughtful coverage of the western United States. Guerra’s photography explores our connections to each other, the natural world, and the places we call home, highlighting social, cultural, and environmental issues. Like Nick Oza, he tells stories with empathy and respect, making him the ideal mentor to guide fellows in continuing Oza’s legacy of dignified, community-centered visual storytelling. |  |
📅 Application opens on January 18, 2026. Subscribe to the Altavoz Lab newsletter for updates.
Meet Nick OzaOriginally from Mumbai, India, Nick worked in Illinois, Georgia and Mississippi. His images were part of the Biloxi Sun Herald’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in Biloxi, Mississippi. In 2006, Nick arrived in Phoenix with his family to work for The Arizona Republic. In 2017, he and the team at The Arizona Republic won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the border wall during the first Trump presidency. Clearly, Nick was a rising star. But tragically, on September 27, 2021, Nick died due to complications from a car accident. He was 57. Learn more about him in a single photograph . |
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How to Support the Nick Oza Visual Fellowship
All donations are tax-deductible. 👥 Your support helps nurture a new generation of community-focused visual journalists carrying forward Nick Oza’s legacy. 🔄 Share this campaign with friends, family, and colleagues to help us reach more storytellers. 🙏 Thank you for your generosity — stay tuned for updates as we celebrate the impact of your support!
Please contact valeria@altavozlab.com if you have any questions, ideas and if you want to help us spread the word about this opportunity with photojournalists embedded in underserved communities in Arizona, New Mexico and the Southwest.
