Equally Informed Philly
At Resolve Philadelphia, I was the Director of Community News and Information Access for their initiative Equally Informed, which focuses on bridging Philadelphia’s digital divide through a free English and Spanish texting service and a print newsletter produced by nine community-level contributors called Info Hub Captains. I launched the Info Hub Captains program (which was paid!) because I believed community members with expertise and lived experience who deeply know and love their neighborhoods should be able to shape — and tell —the news.
In addition to programmatic and strategic planning, I also focus on engagement, newsroom, and community partnerships to shepherd the work and amplify community solutions and voices.
More samples of the community newsletter and examples of SMS texts in English and Spanish are available upon request.
Community Newsletter and Info Hub Captains
Since its founding, Info Hub Captains have landed bylines in local publications. But they first started with the Equally Informed Community Newsletter, where Info Hub Captains were able to write, photograph, and interview other community members. Newsletters were distributed at community events across Philadelphia, through Info Hub Captains, and with strategic distribution partners.
Equal Info Textline
The Equally Informed text line has also helped people in countless major news disasters, such as air quality alerts during Canadian wildfires, the collapse of I-95, and water contamination, and provided resources in the wake of mass shootings in the city.
Text messages were sent twice a week and gun violence resources were also sent every other week. Subscribers were also able to text the line and get an answer within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends.
Anti-Asian Hate
I spearheaded a project investigating coronavirus related hate incidents in Asian communities across the U.S. Our reporting was cited in a joint letter from sixteen senators to the Department of Justice demanding action. I worked closely with editors and reporters to ensure nuance and accuracy in reporting on the Asian community and worked with Ipsos to conduct a poll about attitudes towards Asian Americans during coronavirus. We also partnered with Next Shark’s Facebook group, Crimes Against Asians to inform our reporting efforts.
Ukraine Documents
I spearheaded the digital strategy for Public Integrity’s FOIA lawsuit against the White House and Department of Defense for documents related to President Trump’s decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine, an issue at the heart of his first impeachment trial. We partnered with MuckRock as part of our strategy to invite readers to sign our open letter demanding the release of unredacted Trump administration e-mails. I also answered audience questions and organized the newsroom to run a live blog while we analyzed the documents. As a result of our active outreach, we were also cited on the floor during the Trump’s impeachment trial. I also presented my strategy during a Google News Lab Summit.
Hidden Epidemics
In collaboration with Columbia Journalism Investigates, Public Integrity launched a crowdsourced investigation on the effects of natural disasters on mental health. Public Integrity partnered with ten local newsrooms across the country including Puerto Rico to survey survivors. I led the outreach, engagement, and digital strategy and helped reporters identify potential stories based on the survey. The project was named one of the best collaborative journalism projects of 2020 by the Center for Cooperative Media.
Opportunity Zones
As part of Public Integrity’s series investigating opportunity zones, a provision in Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, I organized a community discussion about effects of opportunity zones in Birmingham, Alabama. We partnered with the Local Voices Network, AL.com and Urban Impact Alabama for the discussion at the historic 16th St. Baptist church.
Newark Community Resource Guide
I created a community resource guide for the city of Newark, New Jersey. I designed, fact checked and researched the guide, which included community organizations and services, resources for re-entry, food, shelter, clothing and more.
POLITICO: Medical Marijuana
In collaboration with POLITICO’s health team, I launched a crowdsourced project digging into which conditions people sought medical marijuana for treatment. There is a lack of scientific studies around certain illnesses medical marijuana was being used to treat and almost no guidelines on when it was appropriate doctors to prescribe.
37 Voices
I was part of a team of 6 freelance reporters covering the 37 percent of New Jersey that struggles with economic hardship for Free Press News Voices in New Jersey. I recorded stories for the oral history department at Rutgers University and a wrote a story on the intersection between healthcare and SNAP benefits.
Spaceship Media: The Many
At Spaceship Media, I moderated conversations between women of all political stripes in a closed Facebook group, The Many. I also reported on stories for our partners at Advance Local based on these discussions.
In addition to moderating and reporting, I also implemented a metrics strategy to help inform our decision making when supporting dialogue in the group, including a textual analysis of comments.
I also helped organize an in-person meeting right before the group closed in collaboration with Birmingham Public library.
Edge of Sound Zine
For my practicum at CUNY, I made a zine for marginalized communities in New York City's underground music scene. I used community engagement strategies to find out what issues to cover.
I created a zine and used a texting service for readers to text a shortcode for the articles that they wanted to read. I also created a pop-up Instagram account and a Medium publication that helped me land a spot on MediaShift's list of 20 leaders in media metrics for 2017. Below is a video that provides context about the DIY or underground community in New York City.