Engagement Journalism Final Presentations 2023
Celebrating all our students learned over the course of the program
On December 12 at 5:30pm, please join engagement journalism students as they share the results from the last year and a half of work listening to communities and coming up with creative ways to meet their information needs. Let’s celebrate their hard work and get some great ideas on how to make journalism more equitable and inclusive!
Join us at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in room 308 or WATCH VIA ZOOM HERE.
Program:
Hari Adivarekar: Building Bridges in the South Bronx
For the last three semesters Hari has been working with the Bronx Music Heritage Center, a Bronx-based organization that works in the intersection of performing arts, education and advocacy, mainly among immigrant communities.
Hari is an independent journalist, photographer, film director/producer, podcaster, yoga practitioner, urban explorer, and in a different life, singer in a rock and roll band. Over the last two decades, his editorial work has been focused on the areas of human rights, health care, urban housing, sport, performing arts and uncommon communities.
Instagram and Twitter: @hari_adivarekar
Email: hariadivarekar@gmail.com / hari.adivarekar51@journalism.cuny.edu
Eliana Perozo: Supporting Marginalized Voices and Organizers across NYC
Over the last year, Eliana has worked primarily with two communities seeking justice without much, if any, government support. Last semester, Eliana drew from her organizing background and newfound journalism skills to host information sessions and report on the 300 people who were eligible for a class action lawsuit after being abused by the NYPD on June 4, 2020. That number has now grown to thousands of people. However, the bulk of Eliana’s work focuses on creating The New New Yorkers, a documentary about migrants that highlights a counter-narrative to victimhood and peril. Against political, personal, and unfathomable circumstances, two migrants, Adama and Omar, pursue their right to life — and joy.
Eliana is an Ida B. Wells scholar and documentary filmmaker. Her expertise focuses on migration and women’s rights. She and her twelve-year-old sister live in Brooklyn, New York.
Email: eliana.perozo46@journalism.cuny.edu IG: @franceseliana
Asar John: Elderly and Disabled New Yorkers Negatively Impacted by City-Implemented Street Changes
At the beginning of his academic journey last fall, Asar was one of few students to choose a geographic community, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Through several conversations with people in the community about neighborhood issues, Asar stumbled upon the popular Tompkins Ave Open Streets. Through the help of a classmate who lived nearby, this led to him getting in contact with neighbors who expressed several quality of life frustrations with the open streets program; they spoke to Asar for an article he published with THE CITY. From there, he shifted gears to concentrate on elderly and disabled people who were impacted by the street changes.
Asar John is an Ida B. Wells scholar at Craig Newmark dedicated to local community reporting. Since delving into journalism in college, he carries several reporting experiences at a plethora of local publications such as BK Reader, THE CITY, City and State NY and more. He enjoys journaling at Brooklyn Bridge Park and rarely leaves the borough of Kings.
Twitter: AJReports22
Instagram:ajreportsss
Email: asar.john65@journalism.cuny.edu
Zakiyyah Woods: Mothers with a History of Postpartum Depression
By sharing a collection of audio interviews, Zakiyyah hopes to inspire individuals, community leaders and local politicians to establish or increase resources designed specifically for families dealing with postpartum depression.
Zakiyyah is a multimedia journalist, photographer, photo editor and FAA certified drone pilot. Her photos have been featured in the 2023 Photoville Festival, The New York Times, Reuters, NPR and other publications. Zakiyyah is driven by her interest in merging photojournalism with engagement strategies to amplify the impact of visual storytelling.
Email: ZWoodsphoto@gmail.com
Instagram: @Lens.On.Swivel
Portfolio: ZakiyyahWoods.com
Ashlee Brown: NYC Students and Mental Health
Ashlee has been been reporting on how impactful school resources for mental health are and how the New York City Department of Education can improve. After speaking with community members, multiple NYC DOE officials and a licensed therapist, Ashlee carefully crafted 3 videos on the issue. She plans to show her work to the community members and officials and spark change.
Ashlee is an Ida B. Wells scholar and social media expert. Despite juggling her full-time job and school (also full-time), she earned a 4.0 GPA average her first and second semesters. She resides in Westchester County, NY.
Email: ashleebmedia@gmail.com
Instagram: @ashleebmedia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleebbrown
Website: www.ashleebmedia.com
Divya Murthy: Grassroots Organizations Working with Asylum-seekers
For the last year, Divya has followed local, on-the-ground efforts of nonprofit volunteer-led organizations helping asylum seekers in New York City with housing, legal, educational and employment needs — in the absence of systematic help from the government. The end goal of that reporting is to create a guide for first-time and new volunteers to get them up to speed and avoid taking away from the time they can devote to helping individuals and families.
Divya is a writer with experience in features journalism, business and economics reporting, audience and community engagement and social strategy. She has reported for the Detroit Free Press, THE CITY, The Indypendent, The New York City News Service, The News Minute, The Hindu, the Syracuse South Side Stand and more.
@divya3012 on Twitter and divyamurthy.net
divyamurthy3096@gmail.com
Marisa Kalil-Barrino: Black and Brown Emerging Fashion Designers Worldwide
For over five years, Marisa has dedicated her passion for journalism to report on all things arts and culture. She has uplifted people from A-list celebrities to emerging artists at Office Magazine, Alternative Press, Essence, Brooklyn Magazine, Hour Detroit, Detroit Metro Times, Eater Detroit, and more. She recently created her own arts and culture publication, 1202 Magazine. Here, her and contributors cover fashion, beauty, music, art, culture, and visuals.
She chose Black and Brown emerging fashion designers as her engagement community to confront their under-representation in the fashion industry and in the media. Over the past 16 months at the J-School, Marisa has continued to interact with those in the fashion industry to understand their ever-evolving needs.
Marisa Kalil-Barrino: marisa@1202magazine.com / marisa@officemagazine.net / IG: @marisakalilbarrino / X: @KalilBarrino
1202 Magazine: info@1202magazine.com / IG and X: @1202magazine
Kimberly Izar: Filipino Artists in New York City
Over the last year, Kim has been working with Filipino artists and cultural workers in New York City with a focus on Queens. Through nuanced and compassionate coverage, she hopes that her efforts to center Filipino artists will disrupt the often racist news surrounding this community.
Kim is an engagement and audio journalist based in Brooklyn who is passionate about the intersection of art, culture, and community health. She is currently an associate editor at Sound Fields, an online publication dedicated to the art of audio documentaries, and her work has been featured in NPR, Gothamist, Prism, among others. She enjoys cooking and taking naps in the grass.
Email: kimberly.d.izar@gmail.com
Twitter: @kimizar1
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kimberly-izar
Brianna Poulos: Neurodivergent Artists in New York City
Other info TBA
Ángeles R. Rodríguez Negrón: Taíno Indigenous Communities from the Caribbean in New York City and Puerto Rico
Ángeles has been working with Taíno Indigenous communities, an aboriginal people originally from the Caribbean region, to provide visibility for their community by documenting their experience as an Indigenous group that had been deemed “extinct” by their native land’s history books.
Ángeles is an engagement and multimedia Journalist covering Latinx communities in New York City and Puerto Rico with experience in photojournalism, video and print reporting in Spanish and English. She’s been reporting on Puerto Rican social and political topics for more than five years, including news coverage of mass protests, natural disaster relief, and more. Ángeles is currently an audience engagement multimedia collaborator with El Nuevo Día in Puerto Rico.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angeles-rodriguez-negron/
