My Resume
Professional Experience
March 2021 - Present
Washington Correspondent
MinnPost
As MinnPost's Washington Correspondent, I report on the Minnesota delegation and on how federal policies affect Minnesotans. I also write the "D.C. Memo," a weekly newsletter that updates MinnPost readers on the most important news and events coming out of Washington.
April 2019 - Present
Freelance Reporter
Various Publications
I write freelance features and investigations for outlets like The Washington Post, MarketWatch, The Lily, Washington City Paper, and more. My work tends to center around issues that affect women and disadvantaged communities.
Sept 2020 - Nov 2020
Electionland Reporter
ProPublica
Monitored tip line and reported on incidents of voter suppression & pandemic pitfalls during the 2020 election season
Determined tip validity, connected tips with appropriate ProPublica local news partners, and collaborated on stories
Nov 2019 - Feb 2021
Technical Writer (Cybersecurity)
IMSolutions / GSA
Gathered, analyzed, translated, and composed technical information about federal cybersecurity policy and practice into clear, readable documents to be used by technical and non-technical personnel in the federal government
Wrote, edited, and designed a 100+ page technical report assessing NOAA acquisition resources
Created and maintained various project artifacts and user documentation including functional requirements, design documents, user guides, style guides, publishing standards, etc.
Wrote blogs and produced videos on emerging technology, cybersecurity services, and risk mitigation strategies
July 2019 - Sept 2019
Intern
CNN Investigative Unit
Published investigation that shows the EPA dropped restrictions on a potentially devastating Alaska mine one day after President Trump met with Alaska’s governor
Balanced long-term investigations with rapid response stories (primarily mass shootings) by collaborating with the national investigative team to research, interview, and write the story in a breaking news setting
Investigated potential illegal insider trading within a company by monitoring the SEC database, speaking with experts in insider trading, and compiling a database of executives’ stock movements and campaign contributions
Jan 2019 - June 2019
Research Reporter
ProPublica Illinois / Chicago Tribune
Investigated nation-wide epidemic of states using out-of-state psychiatric facilities to treat and house juvenile state wards
Interviewed dozens of parents and families of children in psychiatric facilities, former employees, and government officials who oversee the psychiatric facilities and their wards
Spearheaded the arm of the project that focused on deaf children stuck in abusive psychiatric facilities
Found and analyzed reports, state inspections, and child-protection details from each psychiatric facility using a 3-stage FOIA process that starts with police call logs, then digs deeper into more sensitive incident reports and audio
Managed team of Medill students on project and delegated tasks like researching facilities and sending FOIAs to all 50 states
Sept 2018 - March 2019
Freelance Investigator
Better Government Association
Published investigation into Rahm Emanuel’s closing of the Chicago Department of Environment, finding that the city had been neglecting environmental regulation practices in neighborhoods of lower socioeconomic status
Took charge of the data analysis for our reporting team by collecting, cleaning, analyzing, and visualizing over 50,000 rows of environmental enforcement data with OpenRefine, Excel, and Tableau
Conducted thorough background research for the investigation by using FOIAs, budget documents, and the city data portal
April 2018 - July 2018
Editorial Intern
Pacific Standard
Covered surveillance technology at the border, interviewed cybersecurity experts about ongoing senate trials and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and spoke with a Harvard sociologist about the failures plaguing the criminal justice system
Pitched and wrote daily and feature stories on social justice, environment, economy, and education for a global audience
Copy-edited and fact-checked feature length articles in English and Spanish for website and bimonthly print magazine
June 2017 - Sept 2017
Investigative Intern
Injustice Watch
Investigated Cook County criminal court judges via Nexis, misdemeanor court records, and in-person court observations
Created judicial voting guide that resulted in Chicagoans voting a judge off the bench for the first time in 28 years
Filed FOIAs for information on ICE detainees in sheriff’s offices affiliated with the 287(g) program across the U.S.
Compiled summaries of detainee deaths in ICE detention centers in collaboration with the Houston Chronicle to provide supplemental information for an interactive map of ICE detention centers and their systematic human rights violations