Sonali Samarasinghe, who spent last year at the CUNY J-School as its fourth international journalist in residence, has been honored by Images and Voices of Hope, a non-profit group that advances a global dialogue on the media as an agent of change.

Samarasinghe, a Sri Lankan investigative reporter and editor, received the organization’s Award of Appreciation as a Print and Digital Journalist at a ceremony last month for her “courageous, award-winning journalism giving voice to issues of justice, justice freedom, and social accountability.” The award recognized a news website, the Lanka Standard, that she developed in the Entrepreneurial Journalism Program at the CUNY J-School. The site is devoted to news and opinion from and about Sri Lanka.

Samarasinghe, now based in New York, won several awards both in Sri Lanka and internationally over the past 14 years.  She was forced to flee Sri Lanka in 2009 after her husband Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated as he traveled to work. Samarasinghe was subjected to threats on her own life.

An international journalist in residence is chosen each year from among those who seek refuge from violence, prison, or harassment for practicing journalism in their countries.  The program is a jointly run by the School’s International Reporting Program and the Committee to Protect Journalists.