CJ’s Travis honored by The Fund for American Studies | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal, and written by CJ Staff.


    Carolina Journal Associate Editor Kari Travis was named one of two outstanding young alumna by The Fund for American Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based free-market educational nonprofit.

    A news release announcing the award said, "The Young Alumnus Award is given to an alumnus/a who is 30 years of age or younger and has shown great promise in his or her professional field and embodies the values, ideals and potential of an alumnus/a of TFAS programs."

    Travis was named along with Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Taylor is the youngest Senate-confirmed adviser at the U.S. Department of State.

    Travis and Taylor will be honored June 27-29 during the organization's annual conference in Washington. At the event, Jeremy Harrell, managing director of the free-market research organization Clear Path, will receive an award for distinguished alumni service.

    The release stated, "Last year, Travis was selected as a TFAS Robert Novak Journalism Fellow to produce a yearlong writing project on her chosen topic, 'Not for Sale: Liberty, Responsibility and the Role of Conservatism in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.' Travis first came to TFAS as a student in the D.C. Summer Programs tack on Journalism + Communications. She returned to TFAS two summers later to serve as a TFAS program advisor and has participated in three TFAS Curriculum of Liberty Seminars for continuing education."

    Travis has worked on her Novak project while continuing to cover higher education and other issues for CJ.

    "This most recent recognition of Kari's work confirms what we've known from the time Kari joined us in 2015," CJ Editor-in-Chief Rick Henderson said. "She's a tenacious and passionate reporter with a clear vision for telling stories about issues that affect real people. Her readers understand her ability to bring complicated and sensitive issues down to Earth, and we're delighted not only to have her on the CJ team, but also to see her get the acknowledgement she deserves."

    Travis has won two awards for her reporting each of the past two years from the N.C. Press Association.