About Us

The John Alexander Project was founded in 2010. Inspired by our friend, colleague and brother, we started a foundation in his name to launch up-and-coming international reporters abroad to under-reported locations, through our keynote Above the Fray fellowship, operated jointly with NPR.

From 2010-2019, we sent ten fellows abroad to Kiribati, China, Uganda, Cameroon, Réunion, Greenland, Georgia, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and Japan. After a pandemic suspension of the fellowship in 2020, Above the Fray relaunched in 2021, with our 11th fellow, Leah Donnella, reporting on global themes domestically, based in the American South. International travel resumed the following cycle, with Valerie Kipnis reporting from Karakalpakstan in 2024.