2012 Brooklyn Ink Staff Contacts
Khadijah Carter is a native Brooklynite and currently lives there. She obtained a B.S. in Organizational Management from St. Joseph’s College and is currently earning an M.S. in Broadcast Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Before deciding to pursue a career in journalism, Khadijah worked as a spokesperson for various nonprofit organizations that address women’s health issues. In this capacity she appeared in various media outlets, including CBS, BET, People and Elle magazines. Khadijah is most interested in telling human-interest stories and would like to have her own talk show one day. bYou can contact Khadijah at kc2707@columbia.edu, and follow her on Twitter @khadijah_carter.
Lesley Dong is originally from Beijing, China. She came to Nebraska six years ago and attended Creighton University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Lesley has interned with Nebraska ABC affiliate KETV, and with a talk show in China. After seeing the different news systems in China and America, Lesley became interested in bridging the divide. She is most interested in covering international issues and business — especially between China and America. Currently, Lesley is studying Broadcast Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. You can contact Lesley on Twitter @xiaoledong or on email at xiaoledong@gmail.com.
Scott Eidler is studying at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Originally from Woodbury, N.Y., he recently graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in Policy Analysis & Management. There he served as a teaching assistant for an introductory public policy course and wrote about television and social media as a columnist for the Cornell Daily Sun. Scott freelances for the Washington Post, served as a correspondent for the Ithaca Journal, and interned at the editorial page of USA Today. He’s interested in covering politics, trends in social media, business and new technology. When he’s not writing, he’s probably watching “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Office,” or rooting for Cornell sports. Go Big Red! You can reach Scott on Twitter @scottyeidz or at sme2125@columbia.edu
Rebecca Ellis is an international reporter with a background in independent radio, broadcast production, international correspondence journalism, and translation. She is in the process of obtaining her M.S. degree in Journalism at Columbia University. After finishing a graduate program in Media Communication Studies at the Polytechnic University of Berlin in Germany, Rebecca worked as a senior research consultant in Mexico City for six months. In 2009, she received a DAAD stipend to travel to Chile for six months to write her master’s thesis on the topic of non-commercial news media in Chile during and after the Pinochet dictatorship. Rebecca is a strong proponent of media democracy, speaking truth to power, and narrative justice. You can contact Rebecca on Twitter @rebejellis or write to her at rebecca.ellis37@gmail.com.
Jessica Hartogs‘ favorite stories to cover are snapshots of people’s lives that illuminate a larger truth. Jessica recently moved to New York from London with her husband and her cat. She was born in Paris and grew up in Tokyo, Amsterdam, Zurich and London. Before coming to the U.S., Jessica worked at CNN International’s London bureau, before joining CNBC last year, also in London, as an assistant producer. When she’s not out reporting, Jessica is either eating a chocolate chip cookie from Levain Bakery or running around Central Park after eating a Levain cookie. You can contact Jessica via Twitter @jesshartogs or write to her at jhartogsoakley@gmail.com.
Carolina Küng graduated from London’s Royal Holloway University in 2011, with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, business management and European politics. She interned as a political reporter at the newspaper O Publico, and has worked at four Swiss embassies in Europe and the United States as a research analyst and business reporter. Half Swiss and half Portuguese, born in Brazil and raised in Portugal, Carolina is a globetrotter as well as a music and sports enthusiast, and intends to use her year at Columbia to expand beyond her writing skills and into broadcasting and video production. She is at @carolinalobok or clk2132@columbia.edu.
Michael V’inkin Lee is from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. His journalistic interests include politics, crime and international affairs. Before coming to New York, he worked for two years as a reporter and English section editor at a Vancouver arts and culture publication called, The Source. You can contact Michael via Twitter @mikeleenyc or write to him at vml2118@columbia.edu.
Gillian Mohney is a journalist for The Brooklyn Ink and a student at the Columbia University School of Journalism. A graduate of Oberlin College, Gillian has spent a number of years covering film and the arts for Interview Magazine Online and Elle Online. You can follow her on Twitter at @gillianmohney or send her a line at mohney.gillian@gmail.com.
Sarah Munir reports from Brooklyn and the Bronx for The Brooklyn Ink. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in economics but realized soon after that story-telling was her true passion. Originally from Pakistan, she has worked for DAWN NEWS, the country’s first English-language news channel for two years. After earning her master’s degree, she plans to go back to Pakistan and open up a media cell to train aspiring journalists in the country. You can contact Sarah via Twitter @SarahMunir1 or write to her at sm3471@columbia.edu.
Maru Opabola is a multimedia reporter currently for the Brooklyn Ink and is earning her master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School. Maru graduated from Harvard Law in 2008 and practiced commercial litigation for two years, with a focus on media law. She has developed a keen interest in entrepreneurship and start-ups as well as maintained her interest in legal and political affairs. Follow her via Twitter @maruopabola.
Vikram Patel is currently working towards his master’s degree at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Before moving to New York, he worked as a special education classroom assistant for Chicago Public Schools while pursuing a master’s degree in secondary English education at DePaul University. Prior to that, he worked at a boutique bankruptcy law firm, where he discovered the joys of LexisNexis. He earned his bachelor’s in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, his hometown, in 2007. You can write to him at vp2255@columbia.edu.
Tania Rashid covers Brooklyn and the Bronx. She was born in Saudi Arabia, raised for some time in Bangladesh and then settled in the United States. Tania received a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA and a minor in global studies with a regional focus on South Asia and Africa. At UCLA, Tania was the campaign coordinator for Amnesty International (UCLA chapter), where she launched the first-ever petition for the acid victims of Bangladesh. After graduation Tania worked for Al Gore’s global TV network, Current TV, for three years. She produced short documentary films for the viewer-created department her first year. Tania spent her final year working for Current TV’s long-form documentary journalism series “Vanguard.” She is pursuing a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. You can write to her at tr2347@columbia.edu.
Frank Runyeon is a print and digital-media journalist interested in investigative and feature stories, and is pursuing an M.S. degree at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He was born in New York City and bounced back and forth between New York and Los Angeles before living in Germany, the Czech Republic and later Korea. His professional background includes foreign policy research, contract negotiation and more than two years as a high school teacher. Follow him at @frankrunyeon or email him at fgr2105@columbia.edu.
Laurenmaria Smith, whom everyone calls Nell, grew up in Rhode Island and recently received a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Wheaton College, in Norton, Mass., where she wrote press releases and team biographies for Wheaton’s athletic website. As a former collegiate track and field athlete, her passion for sports drives her interest in sports writing. She is an M.S. student with a print concentration in newspapers at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Follow her at @nellsmith626 or email her at nellsmith626@gmail.com.
Prescotte Stokes III, 28, is from New Orleans, La. Prescotte graduated from Dillard University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications. He spent three years working for the local CBS affiliate UPN-54 as a master control engineer and then four years working as a news assistant/sports producer for WWL-TV in New Orleans. Aside from journalism, Prescotte is also a hip-hop artist and recording studio engineer. He will graduate from Columbia University’s Journalism School in 2012 with a master’s degree. You can contact Prescotte via Twitter @PrescotteStokes or write to him at ps2673@columbia.edu.
Purvi Thacker from Bombay, India has a background in English and Creative Writing and Middle Eastern Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill and Indiana University. She was a senior correspondent with the Times of India and has studied seven languages. Purvi is interested in creative storytelling that is humanity driven and in international reporting and photography. A cheese aficionado, she also loves to get lost in big cities and explore cobblestone nooks and crannies. You can contact Purvi on Twitter @purvi21 or on email at pt2319@columbia.edu.
Cristabelle Tumola is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College where she studied English and Italian. She has worked as an editor and writer for an Italian food and culture magazine. More recently, she worked as a freelance editor, writer and translator, and taught ESL in New York City. You can contact Cristabelle via Twitter @CristabelleT or write to her at cht2111@columbia.edu.
