Photojournalist learns unexpected lessons from Propel Regional Training Series in Burbank

Propel Regional Training Series participant Solomon O. Smith

BURBANK, Calif. – Initially I did not intend to go to the Maynard Institute’s three-day training event, the Propel Regional Training Series in Burbank. It was for editors and managers — I am neither. I exist as a neophyte and a freelancer, often with the Black Press. I had a few bits of work that I was particularly proud of, but they are sparse. I thought the publishers, editors, writers and photojournalists that would be there would surely be too busy to see or hear from the likes of me.  

While attending California State University, Northridge (CSUN), I struggled financially and scholastically. I am a photojournalist and writer, which often puts me at odds with my own nature. I am not good with people. I am a bit of an awkward weirdo just as likely to blurt out a random fact as I am to hide behind my camera and stalk a conversation. Over the years, the camera has been a way to infiltrate many spaces — working as both weapon and armor.  

Dr. José Luis Benavides is one of my professors and is director of CSUN’s Tom and Ethel Bradley Center, whose mission “is to collect, preserve, and disseminate the visual history of the region with an emphasis on ethnic minority communities and photographers,” according to the website. Benavides and Dr. Keith Rice have been a source of information and support, a rare boon for a struggling photojournalist. Benavides strongly suggested I attend the training series and recommended me as an intern and photographer.   

The training was excellent. A wide range of talks and tools were provided by the Maynard Institute with the goal of making better editors and journalists. Much of it addressed problems I struggled with in my own work, and many of the handouts, slides and conversations filled out my smart book. 

I learned that I am not the only one struggling with a changing industry; I am not the only one asking for help navigating a shifting profession.

The Maynard Institute’s training provided the understanding that struggling together is one of the best ways to get through to the other side that reinforces the will to do something so difficult. Gathering people in a room is the only way to do that. Being present in that room is the only way to experience that. 

Over those three days I was able to listen to, and learn from, some of the brightest leaders in journalism today. Steve Padilla’s famous anecdotes and tips on writing are part of the legend of the LA Times. Maria Carrillo, a board member of the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism, provided a clean, easier method to organize enterprise stories by showing journalists how to turn chaos into well-reported art.

I had conversations with Joanna Jacobo Rivera (panelist and news director at CALÓ News) and Emily Elena Dugdale (training participant and executive editor of the LA Public Press), who exemplified in their publications that old-school grit and connection to community make great journalism. Larry Lee, panelist, president and publisher of the Observer Media Group and the Sacramento Observer, taught participants about the importance of the Black press and how to maintain a legacy. 

Shockingly, as part of the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center’s presentation on the importance of photojournalism, I was able to show some of my own photos from when I covered the fires in Altadena.  

The list of talented giants in the room was long. While the training itself was impressive and instructional, it was the little moments in the liminal spaces waiting for the restroom, moving casually through the doorway on the way to lunch, that were most instructive, reinvigorating and deeply human.  

I had the pleasure of being late for dinner with Felecia D. Henderson, senior director of strategic initiatives at the Maynard Institute. I almost did not go, but thankfully Felecia was insistent. We were to meet at a local favorite for Mexican food and conversation, but I missed the turn. In the time we sought parking, we talked about industry, family, our visits to California and life, generally.  

We arrived late, but I don’t think we missed out on the conversation. 

As latecomers, we sat at what we called the VIP table, a small addendum to the longer table that held most of the party. With us sat Phillip Zonkel, a founder and the editor-in-chief of Q Voice News, based in Long Beach. We talked about the state of the race in Los Angeles and data collection in minority communities. My table with Felecia and Phillip was one of my favorite parts of being there. So was my conversation about martial arts with John D’Anna, managing editor of CalMatters; my talk about Chi Gong with Darren L. Johnson, CEO of Letting Go Café; or laughing at my need for reading glasses with Staci Baird, a one-woman show at La Verne Daily News. They were a small sample of the people I talked to and hope to talk to again soon.  

The Propel Regional Training Series for Editors and Managers taught me about the behind-the-scenes of working as an editor, how to see my work through an editor’s eyes and how better to police my own writing. The training also showed me that people in this industry care deeply about people. They did want to hear from the likes of me because many of them were me at one time.  

Beginners in a room of impressive people are looking for space, hoping someone with experience will share that prized welcome to the table.  

Maynard facilitated that.  

Solomon O. Smith is a freelance photojournalist and nontraditional student at California State University, Northridge studying political science and journalism. He also is a veteran of the Army National Guard with deployment history in Kuwait and Iraq.

In addition to attending the Propel Regional Training Series as a participant, freelance journalist and CSUN student, Solomon was the professional photographer hired to document our last Propel Regional Training of 2026. Click here to view an entire gallery of Solomon’s Propel Regional Training Series – Burbank Photographs.