Former staff, interns and fellows: Where they are now

Will Cioci joined Wisconsin Watch in 2020. He is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pursuing a degree in Journalism, Environmental Studies, and Political Science. He has interned for state and local government in the past and works as co-editor-in-chief and photographer for the Daily Cardinal student newspaper at UW-Madison.

Vanessa Swales joined the Center in 2020. She is a multilingual British-American-Iranian reporter who previously was a reporting fellow at the New York Times, and worked for NBC Investigations, Reveal, Diario SUR and SUR in English. Swales is a graduate of the Spanish-language journalism program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

Where she is now: Milwaukee Local Government and Politifact Reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Enjoyiana Nururdin joined the Center in 2019 as a reporting intern, and was promoted in 2020 to production assistant on the Center’s investigative podcast. Nururdin began her journalism career in middle school, working for the nonprofit Simpson Street Free Press. She has interned for the Cap Times, WORT Radio and The Weekend Today Show at NBC in New York City and is a graduate of UW-Madison.

Where she is now: Researcher for CBS News

Howard Hardee was the election integrity reporter at Wisconsin Watch and a local fellow with the international journalism nonprofit First Draft News. Previously he was a reporter at the Wisconsin State Journal, and has written extensively about government, natural disasters and forest health.

Where he is now: Freelance reporter based in Madison, Wis.

Nora Eckert was a reporter for Wisconsin Watch’s Votebeat project — a pop-up nonprofit newsroom covering local election administration and voting in six states, created by Chalkbeat.

Where she is now: Reporter at the Rochester Post Bulletin.

Anya van Wagtendonk was a reporter with Wisconsin Watch’s Votebeat collaboration — a pop-up nonprofit newsroom covering local election administration and voting in six states, created by Chalkbeat.

Where she is now: Freelance reporter based in Milwaukee.

Sharon McGowan was the editor for Wisconsin Watch’s Votebeat collaboration — a pop-up nonprofit newsroom covering local election administration and voting in six states, created by Chalkbeat.

Where she is now: Amplify Collaborations Leader at the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Matt Whitney joined the Center in 2019 as a public engagement and marketing intern. He was promoted to engagement manager in 2020.

Where he is now: Graduate from UW-Madison’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication seeking marketing, communications and engagement position in the nonprofit sector.

Jimmy Gutierrez helped address the information needs of Milwaukee residents and generate news coverage that addressed their concerns through the News414 initiative.

Where he is now: John S. Knight Journalism community impact fellow helping to fill Milwaukee information needs.

Jeff Roman is an organizer, consultant and community strategist serving diverse groups of Milwaukee residents, and was a project manager for the News414 initiative.

Where he is now: Executive Director of the Milwaukee County Office on African American Affairs

Where she is now: Business analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and working towards a Master’s degree in computer information systems at Northwestern University.

Where she is now: Audience engagement editor at The Markup. Former engagement editor at Better Government Association, a nonpartisan watchdog in Chicago.

Where she is now: Development Specialist at PRX in Minneapolis. Former Sponsorship Marketing Intern at NPR.

Where she is now: Membership and development coordinator at the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Brenda Wintrode joined the Center in July 2021. She earned her BA in business administration at Bryant University in Rhode Island. After a career switch, she was named the Philip Merrill College of Journalism’s outstanding master’s student when she graduated in 2020. As a reporter for the Howard Center, she was the lead writer on an award-winning investigation of the federal CARES Act’s failure to prevent evictions during the pandemic. She covered Maryland state government for Capital News Service and did data analysis for Maryland Matters.

Where she is now: Now a reporter at the Baltimore Banner

Tanka Dhakal joined Wisconsin Watch in May 2022 as an Alfred Friendly Press Partners reporting fellow. Dhakal is an investigative journalist from Nepal, who works in both radio and online media — most recently for DeshSanchar.com, a Nepalese/English digital news outlet. Dhakal has done in-depth reports on child sexual abuse and children deprived of an elementary school education and covered other sensitive topics such as dowry practices and menstrual cycle taboos. Dhakal also reported on the Rohingya refugees in Nepal and melting glaciers. He was recently named to the 2022 Asia Executive Leadership Program run by the Asian American Journalist’s Association.

Where he is now: Now a journalist in Nepal

Madeline Fuerstenberg joined Wisconsin Watch in June 2021, after graduating from UW-Eau Claire with a bachelors in journalism. She interned with The Cambridge News & Deerfield Independent, was editor-in-chief of UW-Eau Claire’s newspaper, The Spectator, wrote for The Chippewa Valley Post and interned with WQOW News 18.

Where she is now:  Intern with The Washington Post.

Diana Butsko joined the Center in June 2021 as an Edmund S. Muskie reporting fellow. Diana has almost five years of reporting experience in Ukrainian and Russian media. She speaks Ukrainian and Russian.

Where she is now: A graduate student studying political science at Southern Illinois University through the Fulbright scholarship.

Bram Sable-Smith joined the Center in 2019. Previously he reported at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and for Side Effects Public Media. He has contributed stories to NPR, APM’s Marketplace and Kaiser Health News. His reporting has received two national and one regional Edward R. Murrow awards, and two national Sigma Delta Chi awards.

Where he is now: Reporter for Kaiser Health News

Alviz-Gransee joined the Center in May 2021. She previously worked at Vice Reports as a social media correspondent and Startland News as a reporting intern.

Where she is now: A senior at the University of Missouri, pursuing degrees in journalism and political science.

Allison Dikanovic reported for the News414 initiative, a collaboration between Wisconsin Watch, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Outlier media.

Where she is now: Dikanovic is pursuing a master’s in social journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

Sarah Whites-Koditschek was the third WPR Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow. Previously she worked as a Little Rock-based reporter covering healthcare, education, and politics for Arkansas Public Media.

Where she is now: Investigative reporter for Alabama Media Group.

Alisa Ivanitskaya worked the Center while she was a Fulbright master’s degree candidate at the University of Arizona.

Where she is now: Journalist based in Moscow, Russia.

Grigor Atanesian was an Edmund S. Muskie fellow at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. He is a former editor and deputy editor-in-chief of Esquire Russia. 

Where he is now: Journalist at BBC News Russian Service

Belle Lin was an investigative reporting fellow from the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.

Where she is now: Senior tech reporter at Business Insider.

Mukhtar Ibrahim was an investigative reporting fellow from the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.

Where he is now: Executive Editor @SahanJournal, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrant communities.

Katherine Proctor was an investigative reporting fellow from the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.

Where she is now: Writer and reporter for Continuing Education for the Bar-California.

Hall joined the Center in January 2017 as the second Wisconsin Public Radio Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow. Hall focused on creating investigative stories that were broadcast on WPR and distributed by the Center. She speaks fluent Spanish and English.

Where she is now: Central Valley reporter at KQED public radio in Fresno, California.

Bowden joined the Center in 2016 as the first Wisconsin Public Radio Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow.

Where she is now: Project reporter, Wisconsin Public Radio.

Samantha McCabe is a summer 2022 investigative reporting intern with Wisconsin Watch and a recent graduate of Columbia University’s Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism. She has previously worked for The Globe and Mail in Toronto and Southeast Asia Globe in Phnom Penh, and has written for VICE World News, The Walrus, Maclean’s, and more. She is most passionate about covering the climate crisis, gender equity, sexual violence and housing, all from a trauma-informed lens. Samantha is originally from Vancouver, Canada and is currently based in Milwaukee, WI.

Chelsi Peter joined the Center in 2022. She is currently a junior at the University of Missouri. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Sports Journalism. She is a member of the University of Missouri’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and currently serve as the Social Media chair for the organization Mizzou Black Women’s Initiative. With a little over five years of experience in news and opinion writing, she is interested in expanding her journalistic passions for more than one media outlet.

Where she is now: senior at the University of Missouri pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Sports Journalism.

Lauryn Azu is pursuing a degree in journalism and Latin American studies and a certificate in digital studies at UW-Madison. She is senior copy editor of the online student publication The Black Voice. She has previously interned with the Center for Journalism Ethics as an Election Integrity Fellow, WDET-FM Detroit, the Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy Institute at the University of Notre Dame, and the Detroit Free Press.

Hannah Davis joined Wisconsin Watch in June 2021. She is currently pursuing a Political Science/ International Relations degree from Carleton College, where she is a rising junior. Davis is the Managing Editor of Carleton’s independent student newspaper, the Carletonian, and has previously worked as the Carletonion’s Features and Arts Editor and as a Staff Writer.

Dana Brandt joined Wisconsin Watch in January 2021 as an editorial intern. She is a senior at UW-Madison, where she studies journalism and English. Brandt has previously worked as a student fellow with the university’s Center for Journalism Ethics, as an investigative intern with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and as college news editor with the Daily Cardinal, an independent student newspaper on campus.

Isaac Wasserman joined Wisconsin Watch in 2021 as a photo intern. He is a photojournalist at the Daily Emerald, the student paper at UO, a sports photographer for GoDucks and a photographer for Flux Magazine, the SOJC’s premiere feature magazine.

Where he is now: Pursuing degrees in journalism and environmental studies at the University of Oregon.

Steinberg joined the Center in January 2021. She previously worked as the opinion editor for The Badger Herald, and interned with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, Madison Public Library Foundation, Planet Propaganda, and the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Where she is now: Communications and Policy intern for the House Democratic staff in the Illinois legislature.

Rachel Henderson joined the Center in June 2021. She has over six years of broadcast experience and is a member of the University of Missouri’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and currently serves as the Assistant General Manager of Mizzou’s student-run news station, MUTV 23News.

Where she is now: A junior at the University of Missouri majoring in journalism and minoring in sociology.

Neupert joined the Center as a News414 intern in June 2020. Previously, they were the Ann Devroy fellow at The Washington Post and the Sally Webb Journalism intern at Wisconsin Public Radio. Clara holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UW-Eau Claire, where they reported for the student newspaper and student radio station.

Where they are now: Host of “The West Side” on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Where he is now: Freelance reporter looking to relocate to the Portland, Ore., area.

Where she is now: Editor of Edgewood College’s newspaper “On the Edge.” Reporting intern at “News 3 Now” in Madison, Wis., starting July 2021.

Where she is now: L2T Media

Engagement journalism M.A. candidate at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

Where she is now: Based in Houston as part of the Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism reporting team.

Where she is now: Report for America corps member for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who writes about environmental challenges in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Former Health and science reporter at the Appleton Post-Crescent. Former reporter at the Winona Daily News.

Where he is now: Reporter at Wisconsin State Journal.

Where he is now: Communications Specialist at University Health Services – Madison

Where she is now: Marketing communications coordinator at Fetch Rewards. Former engagement editor at WisContext. Former editorial operations intern at Vox.

Where she is now: Recently completed a resident program with City Bureau where she reported on the census, elections and civic participation in Chicago’s immigrant communities, as well as how those communities are navigating vulnerable situations during the pandemic. Formerly a digital media specialist at the Chicago Sun-Times and reporting fellow at the Texas Tribune.

Where she is now: Reporter at the Wall Street Journal. Former legislative relief reporter for the Associated Press.

Where she is now: City and county government reporter at The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. Former education reporter for Madison Commons.

Where she is now: Freelance writer whose work has appeared on the USA TODAY Network, Us Weekly, Mashable, PC Mag, Gothamist, Culture Trip, LittleThings and Entrepreneur Magazine.

Where she is now: Working at HuffPost covering the Biden administration and Congress. Formerly on the Policy and Politics team at Vox.com in Washington D.C. Former investigative reporting intern at USA TODAY.

Where he is now: Assistant editor at Wisconsin Health News.

Where she is now: Policy associate at Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. Formerly worked as a government reporter the Appleton Post-Crescent, a subsidiary of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

Where she is now: News anchor, reporter and producer at KFBB-TV in Great Falls, Montana. Formerly worked as an intern at WKOW in Madison.

Where she is now: News director and reporter, New Orleans Public Radio. Previously worked for Wisconsin Public Radio, WRKF-FM in Baton Rouge and WVIK-FM in Rock Island, Illinois.

Where she is now: Reporter at USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, based in Milwaukee, formerly based at the Appleton Post-Crescent. Former reporter, NOW Newspapers, suburban Milwaukee and Waukesha County. Former editor and reporter for the Patch news websites in the Milwaukee area.

Where she is now: Watchdog reporter, St. Cloud Times. Formerly worked as a watchdog reporter for the Wausau Herald Media. Former relief legislative reporter for The Associated Press in Pierre, South Dakota.

Where she is now: Reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Former crime and justice reporter at the Appleton (Wis.) Post-Crescent. Former reporter, Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald.

Where he is now: Assistant professor in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. Awarded Ph.D. in mass communication at UW-Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication.

Where she is now: Associate editor, Good Fruit Grower. Former reporter, Yakima (Wash.) Herald Republic covering natural resources issues. Former research assistant, UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Where he is now: West Coast correspondent for Guardian U.S. Former reporter for the Voice of San Diego investigative news website. Former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel intern and New York Times/National Association of Hispanic Journalists fellow.

Where she is now: Interior designer at ai3 in Atlanta. Formerly studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design and was a writer based in Atlanta. Former spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and columnist for Madison Magazine.

Where she is now: Running a successful medical writing firm, Karon Medical Writing LLC. Former epidemiologist and veterinarian.

Where he is now: Photographer, Loyola University in Chicago. Former professional photographer and graduate student at the University of Texas-Austin. Former staff photographer, Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Where she is now: Lead editor at Greater Greater Washington. Formerly worked in Togo for the Peace Corps teaching gender education and journalism. Formerly worked for AllAfrica Global Media, PolicyMic and Amnesty International.

Where he is now: Student, University of Iowa Law School. Executive editor at the Journal of Corporation Law. Former editor for the Sheboygan (Wis.) Press. Former reporter for WisPolitics.com covering the state government and politics. Former relief legislative reporter, The Associated Press in Madison.

Where she is now: Staff writer at FairWarning. Former associate editor, The Progressive magazine in Madison, Wis. Former independent journalist in New York. Research assistant for writer Naomi Klein at The Nation Institute. Researcher for Rolling Stone. Former intern at The Nation and former relief legislative reporter, The Associated Press, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Where she is now: East Africa correspondent at Devex. Former reporter for VICE on HBO. Former fellow and reporter (in partnership with the LA Times) at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Former GlobalPost Fellow in Africa; former reporter for Bloomberg LP, Tanzania.

Where he is now: Denver-based investigative reporter, USA TODAY NETWORK. Formerly Appleton-based reporter for the Gannett Wisconsin Media investigative team. Former reporter for the Rapid City ( S.D.) Journal.

Where he is now: Russia correspondent based in Moscow for The Telegraph. Former freelance reporter working in Russia and Ukraine. His work has appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Nation, Foreign Policy, GlobalPost, VICE News, Politico, The Independent, Slate and the New York Times. Former editor and reporter for the Moscow Times

Where he is now: Foreign correspondent reporting from East Africa, the Caribbean and Germany, Jacob’s work has appeared in Foreign Policy, National Geographic, the Nation, the ICIJ, VICE Magazine and NewYorker.com. His book about corruption in Congo was reviewed in the New York Review of Books. Former Fulbright Fellow in Berlin. Former Overseas Press Club Fellow for the APin Nairobi. 2018 finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists for Excellence in International Reporting.

Where he is now: Senior finance reporter at Business Insider. Former wealth reporter for Forbes magazine in New York. Former relief legislative reporter for The Associated Press in Boise, Idaho, and former reporter, Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Where she is now: Senior producer, Salon Media Group. Independent documentary producer in New York. Former director of communications, Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York City. Former video producer for NBC’s The Morning Joe in New York.