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Welcome to my page; my name is Elvis Menayese. I’m a 24-year-old writer for WFAE and a corps member for Report for America. Originally from Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom, but currently based in Charlotte, NC, in the U.S. As a corps member for Report for America, I indulge in reporting on local community issues in a bid to strengthen our society and democracy via truthful, fair, and enriching journalism.

Before teaming up with WFAE, I attended the Queen's University of Charlotte where I received my bachelor's degree in English literature and multimedia storytelling with a focus on journalism. As a Queen’s graduate, I competed as a collegiate athlete in the men’s soccer program.

Prior to being a corps member, I was a journalist for the Queens University News Service - a newsroom where I produced published stories on United States politics, sports, healthcare, non-profit organizations, and music in regional, community, and campus media outlets within North Carolina. Attached below are a series of my published journalism work.

Elvis Menayese

WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

Nationwide shortage of Black male psychologists reflected in CMS

School psychologists play a major role in assessing various developmental and behavioral issues in students. There is a critical shortage nationwide. That deficit is also felt in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, especially when it comes to Black male psychologists — CMS doesn’t have any. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recommends one school psychologist per 500 students.

In CMS, there’s a total of 110 psychologists who serve 181 schools. Alongside psychologists, there are
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

North Carolina state Senate and House candidates to participate in a forum on race and equity

Midterm elections are fast approaching in North Carolina. Voters will get a chance to meet several candidates who represent north Mecklenburg at the Cornelius Town Hall Thursday at 6:30 pm. It is the first of three forums being held this month to help achieve racial equity in the communities of Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville.

The upcoming forums are being organized by several nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to racial and equity issues. President Pam Jones of Unity In Community,
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

Art exhibit at Johnson C. Smith University aims to unite west Charlotte

Growing up in west Charlotte wasn’t easy for Bunny Gregory as a victim of verbal, mental and sexual abuse. Art saved her life.

“It was an escape like I could literally close my room, my door, and paint and draw, and build stuff,” said Gregory. “I’m going to say, it probably kept me from killing somebody or even myself.”

Now Gregory and other local artists in the community have collaborated to produce “Common,” an art exhibit that aims to unite people who have been overlooked and undermined. An
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

The continued fight for fair treatment in the workplace

Fred Redmond’s fight for social, racial, and economic justice, equality, and fair treatment in the workplace and throughout society bring him to Charlotte this Labor Day weekend. On Sunday, he’s a guest speaker at St. Paul Baptist Church on behalf of AFL-CIO’s Labor in Pulpit, Bimah, and Minbar Program which aims to strengthen the relationship between the labor and faith community.

Redmond made history on June 12 when he became the highest-ranking African American officer in the history of Amer
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

CATS hosting pop-up meetings on service cutbacks

The Charlotte Area Transit system is holding public meetings at bus stops this week to discuss cutbacks to several routes.

The first meetings took place Tuesday morning at the park-and-ride stops in Cornelius and Davidson, where express bus service to uptown is being reduced by three trips a day.

CATS is reducing services to deal with a shortage of bus drivers. The cutbacks include 11 of its busiest routes, many of which serve primarily low-income neighborhoods. The challenges for CATS go beyo
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

Charlotte Builder Of Ships In Bottles Says Pirate Season Is Underway

About 1,000 people a day are moving into North Carolina. A Charlotte-based builder of ships in bottles has a tip for them.

On Saturday, Sept. 18, celebrates the golden age of piracy. Bath was the first town in North Carolina and a stopping place for Blackbeard. is set for Sunday, Sept. 19. takes place Oct. 29 on Ocracoke, and the Carolina Renaissance Festival’s Pirate Christmas Weekend is scheduled for Nov. 6 in Huntersville.

“In September and October, and up to November, that's kind of like t
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

Confidence Returns To Kids At Charlotte-Area Summer Camps After Pandemic Year

In a season of evolving guidelines, protocols and behaviors, Charlotte summer camp leaders say kids are displaying a new sense of confidence that may have faded during a year of COVID-19.

After months of lessons in surviving a pandemic, kids know the drill.

“There’s more confidence because we know more, and we’ve put these practices into place for a year now,” said Crystal Little, senior program director at the Morrison Family YMCA. “We’ve had tough conversations and now we’re not having it fo
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

Confidence Returns To Kids At Charlotte-Area Summer Camps After Pandemic Year

In a season of evolving guidelines, protocols and behaviors, Charlotte summer camp leaders say kids are displaying a new sense of confidence that may have faded during a year of COVID-19.

After months of lessons in surviving a pandemic, kids know the drill.

“There’s more confidence because we know more, and we’ve put these practices into place for a year now,” said Crystal Little, senior program director at the Morrison Family YMCA. “We’ve had tough conversations and now we’re not having it fo
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

Meet The New Guardians Of Charlotte's Tree Canopy

For the first time in history, the guardians of the Charlotte tree canopy are both women.

In the spring of 2021, Laurie Reid Dukes became city arborist and Jane Singleton Myers became executive director of TreesCharlotte. Among their key goals: grow the canopy in low-income neighborhoods, increase plantings, and diversify tree species in the urban forest.

In late June, the conservation organization American Forests announced a new method for evaluating in American cities. The new evaluates whe
WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source •

In The Oral Tradition Of The Quran, A Boy Becomes A Hafiz

Inside a mosque in north Charlotte, 12-year-old Mohsin Siddiqui sits in a corner of the prayer room, legs crossed and fully focused, rocking back and forth as he practices verses from the Quran, the central religious text of Islam.

In an oral Muslim tradition called hifz, Mohsin recently completed the memorization of all 6,200 verses and 77,000 words in the Quran. Only one or two people from Charlotte’s population of about 25,000 Muslims accomplish this challenge each year.

The process took Mo