Welcome Engagement Class of 2023!

A new group of students joins us to find new ways to meet communities’ information needs

Hari Adivarekar

Hari Adivarekar is an independent photographer, director/producer, journalist, podcaster, radio jockey, yoga practitioner, urban explorer, and in a different life, a singer in a rock and roll band. His work has been published by BBC News, Al Jazeera, National Geographic Traveler India, and commissioned by Red Bull, Greenpeace and Amnesty International among others. He received the Red Ink Award, a national honor for Journalistic Excellence given by the Mumbai Press Club, for his long term documentary project on Karunashraya, a hospice in Bangalore. Over the last two decades his editorial work has been focused on the areas of health care, urban housing, sport, performing arts, uncommon communities and indigenous rights. You can see his work on his website.

He graduated from Christ College in Bangalore, India in 2003 with a BA in Mass Communication, Psychology and English Literature. Hari was compelled to join the Engagement Journalism program at CUNY while on a quest to improve his effectiveness and impact as a journalist, working over the long term in collaboration with communities.

Ashlee Brown

Ashlee is currently working as the social media manager for Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Prior to joining the healthcare industry, she worked for companies like News 12 Networks, ABC News, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, and Paramount (previously ViacomCBS). She was nominated for a New York Emmy as a reporter in June 2021. She graduated from Hampton University with a degree in journalism and has served as a volunteer mentor for disadvantaged youth throughout the Hampton Roads Community. She is interested in working with minority communities dealing with language barriers. She enjoys arts and crafts, photography, music, videography, food, spending time with loved ones, and writing.

Antoinette Deluca

Antoinette is presently the chair of the WNET Group’s PBS THIRTEEN/WLIW Community Advisory Board, a board she has served since 2015. The PBS THIRTEEN/WLIW Community Advisory Board convenes with station representatives to review programming, community initiatives, and policies.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Masters of Science, and a Doctorate, as well as additional certifications across several fields.

Kimberly Izar

Kim is an aspiring journalist based in Brooklyn with over eight years of experience as a nonprofit fundraiser. She is the founder of Kimberly Izar Consulting, a nonprofit strategy consulting firm serving social justice organizations at the forefront of systems change. Kim has held various roles at Brooklyn Community Foundation, Participatory Budgeting Project, and many others, raising over $8 million to expand affordable housing, youth development, and civic participation. In 2015 she participated in a 5-week field research program at the Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA) in Cape Town, South Africa. A graduate of Northeastern University, she is interested in exploring the nuances of how race, gender, class, sexual identity, and disability impact Asian American communities. She enjoys park hangs, new music and podcasts, and camping/outdoors time.

Asar John

Asar graduated from York College, CUNY with a journalism major and has interned for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and NY Amsterdam News. He served in a variety of reporting and editing roles for his college newspaper before eventually becoming editor in chief. He is interested in serving communities affected by gentrification and issues around housing. He likes listening to music, going on walks, cooking, and finding new places to visit in the city.

Marisa Kalil-Barrino

Marisa is a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, where she majored in journalism with a Spanish minor. She is working as a freelance writer for Brooklyn Magazine, Eater, and other titles. She has interned with the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit Metro Times and served as the arts and entertainment editor at her college paper. She enjoys writing about art, culture, fashion, music, food, entertainment, and beauty.

Christine Loughran

Christine has worked in higher education for eight years, currently at Manhattan College in the Bronx. She has also previously worked as a features reporter at The Daily Voice in New York and hopes to focus her journalism on the activist work of college students in New York City. Christine graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a degree in mass communication. In her spare time she enjoys reading, swimming, running, cooking, writing, and spending time with family and friends.

Weston is a graduate of CUNY’s Brooklyn College, where he majored in journalism and media studies. He has interned with Townsquare Media and is a producer and radio show host at WCBR. He has also worked in the restaurant industry, on farms, on a ski resort, as a Little League coach and umpire, and more. He hopes to focus on the effects of 9/11 on the community and people that stayed in lower Manhattan following the attacks. His interests include snowboarding, poker, baseball, cars, and travel.

Judith Marks

Judith was a former social worker with more than 30 years of experience and former professor in the field at Columbia University. She has also worked in a psychiatric hospital and in community psychiatry (outreach, advocacy, community/hospital linkage). She is interested in working with the community of foster kids, especially older ones who are aging out of the system. Her interests include grandmothering, hiking, skiing, traveling, and opera /most music.

Divya Murthy

Divya has a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse, where she worked as a writer at the Daily Orange and for the Newhouse Student News Team. She also served as the public relations chair for the South Asian Student Association and the editor at Globalists, a digital publication she helped co-found. Globalists was created to elevate diverse voices and conversations that are vital for students with international backgrounds. In college, She has also done a number of internships, including at Hachette Book Group and MacMillan Learning, and worked as a copywriter and freelance reporter. She is interested in the gig economy and immigrant communities in outer boroughs. She loves doing the NYT Crossword, working out, and reading fiction during her free time.

Eliana Perezo

Eliana, a graduate of Sewanee: The University of the South, has served as a policy consultant for Results for America, where she worked with public and social sector leaders to assess communities’ needs and assets. She has also worked as a program analyst with Vera Institute of Justice, a program for unaccompanied children, and volunteered on NY State Assembly and City Council campaigns. She also works with Mayday Collective, an activist hub and community space in Brooklyn. She is interested in working with communities affected by the housing crisis in NYC as well as with communities of organizers. She enjoys writing, running, cooking, and organizing things.

Brianna Poulos

Brianna graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in news/editorial journalism. In college, she worked as a reporter for her campus paper and as a peer tutor at the Writing Center. She also interned for Bellingham Alive Magazine last winter where she was responsible for writing, editing, fact checking, restaurant reviews, travel stories and feature pieces. When she is not reporting, Brianna spends her time painting, watching movies and baking. She is interested in working with communities around wellness and diversity.

Ángeles Rodríguez Negrón

Ángeles graduated from the University of Puerto Rico — Río Piedras, with a degree in journalism. She was the treasurer of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists University of Puerto Rico Chapter and active at her campus paper. She has worked as a freelance journalist and photojournalist and interned at Periódico Claridad, a weekly. She reported on natural disaster refugees, homelessness in San Juan, political protests, figures and parties. She has also worked in social media management and digital marketing. She wants to work with the communities affected by language assimilation and bilingual higher education. She is a foodie and loves going to the gym, to the beach, on long walks, to the movies, checking out museums, going out with friends, and curling up with her cats for some television.

Zakiyyah Woods

Zakiyyah is a freelance photojournalist whose clients have included Reuters, The New York Times, Business Insider, and Gothamist. She has also photographed for Volunteers of America NYC, Community Heroes Photoville exhibition, and was the official campaign photographer for Khari O. Edwards during his run for Brooklyn Borough President. She graduated from Benedict College with a degree in mass communications and a concentration in print journalism. Her hobbies include running and running and bothering her cat. She is also a mother to a wonderful 15-year-old young man with an Asperger’s diagnosis.