Author bios

Idrees Ali is a Pentagon correspondent for Reuters. Prior to joining Reuters he worked on a series for the Washington Post on the killing of journalists in U.S.-allied countries.
@idreesali411

Mikayla Baiocchi is a Digital Coordinator at Discovery Communications and a senior journalism major at the University of Maryland. She has lived in London and in New York City where she worked for different lifestyle journalism companies. But Mikayla’s roots are in New England, so she has an inherent love for quaint little villages, any body of water and summers by the ocean.

Jon Banister graduated from Merrill College in 2016. The Boston native now lives in Washington, D.C. and covers the commercial real estate industry for Bisnow.  @J_Banister

Erica Bonelli is a senior multiplatform journalism and marketing double major at the University of Maryland. She currently writes for Baltimore Magazine and is a contributing writer to TastingTable.com. Last year she studied in Barcelona, Spain, where she spent her days exploring, traveling, and indulging inSpain’s gastronomic greatness. She previously worked at Capital News Service and the Diamondback. @ericabonelli

Julia Bryant is a senior at the University of Maryland studying journalism and global terrorism. She is a Salzburg Global Fellow and was previously a Senior Fellow at Law Street Media. She plans to use her journalism skills to get into public policy following graduation. She is a Maryland native but hopes to live abroad.
@juliaebryant_

Abigail Burton graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2016 with a degree in Multiplatform Journalism. While at UMD, she completed an internship at Home & Design Magazine and did freelance reporting for The Diamondback and Unwind Magazine. She currently lives in Washington, D.C., where she is pursuing her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. @atburton93

Julie Depenbrock graduated from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism in December 2017 with a master’s degree in Journalism. Her concentration is in investigative reporting.  Previously an intern at NPR and Education Week, she now works at WAMU 88.5, DC’s NPR station. Before she decided to be a journalist, Julie was a teacher on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. At the University of Maryland, she was a Dean’s Fellow and a University Fellow. @JulieDepenbrock

Andrew Dunn is a senior journalism and economics major at the University of Maryland, College Park. He hainterned at The Tampa Bay Times, The Hill and The Baltimore Sun. During the school year, he has reported for the school’s student newspaper, The Diamondback, and is programming chair for the Society of Professional Journalists. He is looking forward to going into the journalism industry after graduating in May 2018.  @AndrewE_Dunn

Naomi Harris is a recent graduate from the University of Maryland with a double degree in journalism and socio-cultural anthropology. She has written for student publications like The Writer’s Bloc and interned at media outlets like The AFRO and maDCap. Since childhood, she’s always admired journalists who run to conflict instead of away because fear can cause a great story to be missed. She hopes her writing will not only inform the general public but magnify the importance of diversity, equality and inclusion. Michelle Obama once told her to rock the world and she plans to do so by reporting abroad. @NaomiJayHarris

Katy June-Friesen is a writer, editor and media producer in Washington, D.C. She is also a Ph.D. candidate at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and managing editor for Journalism & Communication Monographs under editor Dr. Linda Steiner. @kjunefriesen

Asia Hester is a senior Multiplatform Journalism major and French Studies minor at the University of Maryland. She’s interested in documentary photography and film with hopes of becoming a traveling filmmaker. @helloitsasia1

Marjorie Kirk is the editor-in-chief of the Kentucky Kernel. She is studying print journalism and international studies at the University of Kentucky. She received an award from the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center at UK for excellence in journalism.

Anita Kömüves is a reporter in Hungary, working for a weekly news magazine. She worked with Press Uncuffed during her Fulbright year at the University of Maryland in 2015 and worked on stories covering press freedom issues while interning at The Washington Post. After her return to her native country, she gained first-hand experience about how media is repressed when the newspaper she had worked far was suddenly shut down for political reasons.  @KolindaKovacs

Courtney Mabeus writes about the military for The Virginian-Pilot. She received her Master’s from the University of Maryland’s Merrill College of Journalism in 2015 and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina’s School of Media and Journalism in 2002. Mabeus’ work while in graduate school also appeared in The Washington Post and NPR. @courtneymabeus

Deidre McPhillips is a data reporter with U.S. News and World Report, covering international news for the Best Countries section. She received her Master’s degree from the University of Maryland’s Merrill College of Journalism in 2015 and her bachelor’s degree from Fordham University in 2011. @deedrah

Zane Moses is a senior at the University of Maryland majoring in multi-platform journalism and with a minor in global terrorism. He has written for several university publications, including the Diamondback newspaper and Stories Beneath the Shell. He has also worked as a reporter for the Falmouth Bulletin, in Falmouth, Massachusetts. He currently works for the communications team at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. He also writes for the Baltimore Sun television blog, TV Lust.

Eleanor Mueller is a graduating senior at the University of Maryland. With a double-degree in Multiplatform Journalism and Government & Politics expected May 2017, she is currently interning for CNN’s Digital Politics team. In the past, Mueller has worked in the newsrooms of McClatchy, USA TODAY and the Kirkland Reporter. On campus, she has spent four years covering student, local and state politics for the Diamondback and Capital News Service. @eleanor_muelle

Daphne Pellegrino is a recent graduate from the University of Maryland, where she specialized in journalism and women’s studies. She is interested in pursuing work related to human rights, and is currently an intern at Reporters Without Borders. Daphne is from New Haven, CT, but now lives in Washington, D.C.
@drpellegr

Dana Priest is a Washington Post reporter and John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and three-time finalist, Priest uncovered secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and deplorable conditions for veterans at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington. @DanaPriest

Sudarsan Raghavan, the Washington Post’s Cairo bureau chief, has reported from more than 60 countries, and has been variously based in Nairobi (twice), Baghdad, Kabul, Johannesburg and Madrid. Sudarsan has extensively covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, radical Islamist movements and global terrorism. He has also covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the 2011 Arab revolutions, and 17 African wars. He joined the Post in 2005 after working mostly in Africa for Knight Ridder, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Newsweek. Sudarsan’s professional honors include a George Polk Award, three Overseas Press Club Awards, the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize and the Livingston Award for international reporting.

 Nicole Reisinger is a senior at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism where she freelances for student publications and has been an editorial intern for local publications. Nicole studied immersive photojournalism abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico and will receive her degree in multiplatform journalism with a minor in history  May 2018. She is currently interning for her fourth year with Maryland Athletics and is a Media Relations Student Assistant for the gymnastics team. @nareising

Talia Richman is a senior in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. She’s worked as an editor and reporter at The Diamondback, the independent student daily, for four years. Richman has held internships at The Dallas Morning News, USA Today, The Baltimore Sun and The Oregonian, and will be returning to The Sun after graduating in May. @talirichman

Karina Shedrofsky is a recent graduate from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. She is excited to start her new position as an investigative researcher at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, after working as a daily news writer there. Before OCCRP, Karina spent six months interning with USA Today. From Sarajevo, she hopes to give a voice to the voiceless and hold the power accountable. Twitter: @karinashed

Grace Toohey is currently based in Baton Rouge, working as a crime and criminal justice reporter for the largest newspaper in the state, The Advocate. She covers breaking news, investigates the criminal justice system, and monitors local law enforcement, in a state with the highest incarceration rate and a history of racial injustice.  In May 2016, she graduated with honors from The University of Maryland-College Park with a double degree in Multi-platform Journalism and Government and Politics, and a minor in Spanish.  @grace_2e

Rebecca Torchia is a senior journalism student at the University of Maryland, minoring in French and creative writing. She is the editor-in-chief of Unwind magazine and has completed internships with Whirl magazine, DC Modern Luxury, and Pro Construction Guide. She hopes to visit Montpellier–where she studied abroad for three weeks–again. From Pittsburgh, Torchia is an avid supporter of the Penguins and loves animals.
@rebeccatorchia

Raye Weigel  is a senior journalism and English double major at the University of Maryland. She has been an editorial intern for Washington City Paper in D.C. and Baltimore City Paper. Raye studied abroad in London, where she produced a documentary about women in the spoken word poetry scene. As a member of The Writer’s House, a creative writing program at UMD, she also enjoys storytelling through poetry and is published in various literary magazines.
@RayeWeigel3