Today we’d like to introduce you to Yulia Strokova.
Hi Yulia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I originally worked in journalism and communications, spending over a decade in newsrooms and media environments. But everything shifted when I moved from Moscow to Miami about seven years ago to continue my education and pursue an MBA at Florida International University.
Miami unexpectedly reconnected me with my purpose. Through local nonprofits, grassroots leaders, artists, and environmental advocates, I discovered an entirely different ecosystem of people quietly doing extraordinary work to make their communities more sustainable, inclusive, resilient, and just. I realized that these stories, stories of solutions, compassion, and collective action, were often missing from mainstream narratives.
That realization led me to launch Impact.Edition with a very simple mission: to amplify the voices of local changemakers and use storytelling as a tool for connection, hope, and positive impact. What started as a volunteer-driven passion project has since evolved into a nonprofit print and digital publication focused on solutions journalism, climate and social justice, public storytelling campaigns, exhibitions, and community-centered experiences.
Over the years, we’ve grown far beyond what I initially imagined. Today, Impact.Edition connects a community of over 13,500 readers and followers across South Florida. Our storytelling exhibitions have appeared across Miami, from Brightline stations and public spaces to universities and independent bookstores, helping bring local stories directly into everyday community life. We’ve also built collaborations with photographers, nonprofits, artists, students, and grassroots organizations who all believe in the power of storytelling to strengthen communities.
At the heart of everything we do is one core belief: ordinary people doing extraordinary things deserve to be seen, heard, and celebrated.
The journey has definitely not been linear. Building an independent nonprofit media platform comes with uncertainty, challenges, and constant reinvention. But every step has reinforced my belief that journalism can be more human-centered, solutions-driven, and deeply connected to community wellbeing.
Today, I continue building Impact.Edition not just as a publication, but as a space where storytelling, public art, civic engagement, and hope intersect. And honestly, I still feel like we’re only at the beginning.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest challenges was launching Impact.Edition with very limited resources and no clear roadmap. In the beginning, it was essentially a volunteer-driven passion project built from scratch. I was wearing every hat at once — writer, editor, fundraiser, designer, event organizer, publisher, community outreach person — often while still trying to navigate life as an immigrant rebuilding a sense of belonging in a new country.
Another challenge has been building an independent nonprofit media platform at a time when journalism itself is facing enormous uncertainty. Solutions journalism and community-centered storytelling are still not always viewed as “traditional” news media models, so there were moments when people didn’t fully understand what we were trying to build or why it mattered.
Many community-centered media initiatives operate with limited support, despite the amount of labor, care, and coordination required behind the scenes. There were definitely moments of exhaustion, self-doubt, and questioning whether we could sustain the work long term.
At the same time, some of the biggest struggles became the most transformative lessons. They taught me resilience, adaptability, and the importance of community. I’ve learned that you do not build impactful work alone. Every collaboration, volunteer, artist, student, nonprofit partner, donor, and community member helped shape Impact.Edition into what it is today.
I also think one of the emotional challenges of this work is staying hopeful while constantly reporting on urgent issues — climate anxiety, inequality, displacement, and social fragmentation. That’s part of why solutions-focused storytelling became so important to me. I wanted to create space not only for awareness, but also for possibility, humanity, and action.
The road has been unpredictable, but I’m grateful for every challenge because each one clarified the mission even more deeply.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m the founder and publisher of Impact.Edition, a Miami-based nonprofit publication focused on solutions journalism, sustainable development, and collective impact. My work sits at the intersection of storytelling, journalism, community engagement, and public art.
What I specialize in is creating human-centered storytelling experiences that go beyond traditional media. While our foundation is journalism, we intentionally blend print publications, digital storytelling, public exhibitions, live events, and community gatherings to make stories more accessible, emotional, and participatory. I’m especially passionate about highlighting ordinary people doing extraordinary things — local changemakers, artists, environmental advocates, nonprofit leaders, and community builders whose work often goes unseen.
I think what sets my work apart is that it’s deeply solutions-focused and community-driven. I’m not interested in storytelling that only leaves people overwhelmed or disconnected. I care about stories that restore a sense of possibility, empathy, and collective action. Through Impact.Edition, we try to create spaces where journalism becomes not just information, but a catalyst for connection and civic imagination.
One project I’m especially proud of is our “Who Is Miami” public storytelling initiative, which transformed local changemakers’ stories into large-scale public exhibitions displayed across Miami transit systems, universities, bookstores, and public spaces. Seeing stories about climate justice, social impact, and community resilience appear directly in people’s everyday environments felt incredibly meaningful because it helped make local voices visible in a much more public and accessible way.
I’m also proud that what began as a volunteer-driven passion project has grown into a platform connecting over 13,500 readers and followers across South Florida and beyond. To date, we’ve released five print collections of Impact.Edition, which can now be found both online and in independent cultural spaces like Books & Books and Dale Zine. More importantly, I’m proud of the community that has formed around the work — the writers, photographers, artists, students, nonprofits, and readers who believe storytelling can genuinely strengthen communities.
At the core of everything I do is the belief that storytelling can help people feel less alone, more hopeful, and more connected to each other. In a time when so much media is driven by outrage and division, I truly want to help create narratives rooted in humanity, resilience, beauty, and action.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I would call myself as an opportunity taker. Building Impact.Edition itself was a major leap of faith. I left behind more traditional and predictable career paths to create a nonprofit media platform rooted in solutions journalism, collective impact, and community storytelling. Independent journalism and nonprofit work are not easy spaces to build in, especially at a time when many local publications are struggling to survive. But I believed there was a real need for storytelling that not only informs people about problems, but also reconnects communities with hope, action, and possibility.
Many of the projects we’ve launched, from public storytelling campaigns across Miami to climate-focused live reading picnics and youth-centered initiatives, started simply from asking: “What if this could exist?”
For me, risk is often tied to vision and opportunity. Sometimes opportunities appear before you feel fully ready, and I’ve learned that growth often happens in that uncomfortable space.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.impactedition.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/impact.edition/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-edition/
