Jose Jesus Zaragoza was born in a border town in Texas into a family of hard-working migrant farmworkers. He has carried the valuable lessons of his upbringing into his career endeavors.

He has strong ties to the Glades communities where he worked as the publisher of three newspapers and as a communications director for a local nonprofit serving low-income residents. He brings that experience to study the impact of agriculture on the Glades’ way of life through questions of culture, the economy, the environment, and race.

As an artist, Jose has honed his artistic vision through documentary photography, writing, and filmmaking, and has creatively captured stories through his lens and writing since 1999.

His achievements include being awarded the Knight Heroes Grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2022 in furtherance of his documentary filmmaking; along with grants from The Redford Center, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, and many more.

Max Maldonado is a documentary filmmaker based out of New York City. Growing up in Florida, Max became fascinated by the state’s complicated history, politics, and relationship with nature. Starting his career in journalism at his college’s radio station, he became intimately familiar with the issues his community faces.

Max’s documentary project, Black Snow, investigates the sugar industry’s decades-long practice of sugarcane burning in South Florida and its effects on the health of residents. His film will touch on the environment, inequality, and environmental racism. His project has received recognition from esteemed organizations such as the Redford Center, IF/THEN Shorts, and the Knight Foundation. He is also a current fellow of the Economic Hardship and Reporting Project.