Synopsis:  Nuestras Voces is a three-year photo storytelling fellowship and career development program aimed at 16-24-year-olds from underserved Central Valley communities. Each fellowship program is made of a 6-month workshop course that culminates in a photo essay and community engagement project. 

Nuestras Voces, which is now on its third cohort,  is part of the LUPE’s promise program at the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance, a grassroots organization based in Poplar, CA, focusing on rural, farmworker towns. 

The program has now shifted to a three-year format (Nuestras Voces I, II, III) that builds on itself. The goal is to develop skills, passion, and a body of work that will prepare fellows to work as photojournalists.

Adam Perez is an independent director and photographer born and raised in California’s Central Valley.  His work spans genres and mediums– all rooted in intimate storytelling. 

He’s a frequent contributor to The New York Times and his work has appeared in TIME magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker among others. He’s currently a Catchlight Global Fellow, working on “Of the Fields,”  a photography and short documentary project collaborating with farmworkers. 

The Emerson Collective, The Center for Cultural Power, The California Arts Council, and the Academy of Arts and Sciences have supported his work on farmworker communities. 

He graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Southern California, where he’s also worked as an adjunct professor.

Zaydee Sanchez is a Mexican-American documentary photographer and writer originally from Tulare, California, an agricultural town in the San Joaquin Valley that inspires much of her work. She focuses on labor, the environment, and migration, gravitating toward long-form stories that aim to connect, heal, and highlight the resilience of humanity. Zaydee is the recipient of the American Mosaic Journalism Prize, where a panel of anonymous judges recognized her “poignant coverage of farm workers, migrants, and transgender Latine groups.” Zaydee is currently a visual fellow at ProPublica. Her independent clients include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and The Washington Post and more.

• Purpose:

  •  To empower underrepresented communities in California’s Central Valley to share their lived experiences through photography and storytelling. 

  • To uplift underreported stories 

  • To foster and develop future generations of storytellers and photojournalists 

• Target Audience: 16-24, farmworkers, immigrant communities, and other historically marginalized voices in the Central Valley. 
  

• Core Approach: Provide free access to photography training, mentorship, and exhibition opportunities that amplify stories too often overlooked in mainstream narratives.

In 2022, photographer and filmmaker Adam Perez founded Nuestras Voces, a photo storytelling fellowship for youth living in rural farmworker towns in California’s Central Valley. The program was created in collaboration with the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance, a grassroots organization focused on community development in rural, unincorporated communities. Mari Perez-Ruiz, the organization’s cofounder and executive director, is also Adam’s sister. 

Throughout his career, a central element of Perez’s practice has focused on education. After graduating with honors from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he was selected for a postgraduate teaching fellowship. During that year, he served as a teaching assistant to renowned photographer Nina Berman and filmmaker Duy Linh Tu. Perez had the honor of observing some of our country’s most influential journalists and witnessing how they brought their passion, curiosity, and lived experiences into the classroom.

That year became foundational to his growth as an educator. Soon after his fellowship, he was invited to work as an adjunct professor, teaching introductory photography and video courses.

He would later also serve as an adjunct at the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Journalism and help usher in a new class, “Community Journalism.”  The class focused on preparing young journalists to report on under-reported communities. That experience deepened his commitment to community-centered storytelling grounded in collaboration, trust, and long-term engagement.

The program, which is now entering its third cohort, represents a core principle of Perez’s practice —how to create pathways for the next generation of photographers, how to document and lift up the stories within our community, and how to think of stories as part of a larger feedback loop. 

For example, for the first cohort of Nuestras Voces, students were asked to explore their own family histories and think critically about how their work could reach the people closest to them. Many shared that their parents were too busy to attend a gallery exhibition, which raised another question: how do we meet people where they are?

The answer became something larger than a classroom project: a series of 10 billboards placed along the major arteries that farmworkers travel daily.

The fellowship will enter its third cohort this Fall with support from Elevate Youth, California. The program has now shifted to a three-year format (Nuestras Voces I, II, III) that builds on itself. The goal is to develop skills, passion, and a body of work that will prepare them to work as photojournalists.

“We see the dust, the long days, the heat, and the things our families worry about. But we also see laughter, traditions, and people who refuse to give up. Our reality is complicated, and our stories should be told that way.”

“Our community carries so much history, Mexican, Filipino, Indigenous, and so many stories that connect us. I want to learn from those who came before me and make sure the next generation knows where we come from.”

- Arturo Rodriguez, CVEA Co-Founder

Elevate Youth California supports this project through Proposition 64 funds. The California Department of Health Care Services contracts The Center at Sierra Health Foundation to support the implementation of this program.

As well as the Mental Health Visual Desk Project grant by CATCHLIGHT focus and Adobe.