Leah Clapman makes things happen at the intersection of journalism and education. She created Student Reporting Labs with the idea that video journalism is a powerful form of project-based learning and that the future of quality, non-commercial news depends on cultivating the next generation of storytellers. She finds inspiration in classrooms, hanging out with teachers and teenagers, and visiting newsrooms around the country. The SRL program connects schools to their local PBS stations in tangible and lasting ways, producing unique youth-focused content, mentorships, internships and community mobilization around critical issues.

Leah helped launch the PBS NewsHour website and spent long evenings hand coding pages and tossing floppy discs across the room to co-editors. She advises youth media, civics and participatory projects and served on the board for Rock the Vote’s civics initiative and PBS Digital’s teacher research group. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, a musician and high school history teacher, their two children and a new kitten.